Prosecution Investigates into Accusations over GNP Presidential Candidates

The prosecution launched its investigation on Friday into the allegations over GNP presidential hopefuls, which erupted during the verification process. It assigned three cases involving Lee Myung-bak to the special investigation team at the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office.

The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office assigned three cases of legal accusations to the special investigation team at the Seoul prosecutor’s office. One was brought on by the former mayor’s brother-in-law, Kim Jae-jeong, over libeling charges against Rep. Yoo Seung-min, Rep. Lee hye-hoon, and Executive Adviser Seo Cheong-won of the Park Geun-hye camp and the Kyunghyang Daily. Another case was brought forth by the Das Co., where Kim holds the largest share, against Rep. Lee Hye-hoon of the Park camp, and the third case was requested by GNP Rep. Lee Sa-cheol over the leaked information on the real estate holdings and transactions between Lee and his relatives.

The results of the investigation by the major investigation department dealing with major political scandals are likely to have considerable influences on the party’s nominations and even the presidential elections themselves.

A prosecution official stated, “The purpose of why we assigned the cases to the special team is to clarify the suspicions concerning presidential candidates and to suggest choice criteria for the public. The Ministry of Public Security will cope with election crimes including the violation of the Public Offices Election Law, while the special team will handle the cases that require clarifications of suspicions.”

However, the investigations by the prosecutor’s office, which is set to look into the allegations minutely, may trigger controversy over the government’s meddling in the presidential elections. The probes are expected to be divided into two; one over the allegation of the government’s leaked information on Lee’s real estate, and another regarding suspicions of Lee raised by the Park camp.

In order to define whether the suspicions raised by Executive Adviser Seo Cheong-won of the Park camp amounts to libeling, the prosecutor’s office appears to be focused on the dubious real estate deals surrounding Lee’s brother and brother-in-law owned a 6555 square meters-site in Dogok-dong, and in particular, on whether they received preferential treatment when they purchased the land from POSCO at 26.3 billion won in 1995.

To verify the matter, the prosecution is attempting to secure evidence regarding the transaction statement by tracking the account of Lee’s relatives related to the land purchase.

To clarify the suspicions involving Das Co., raised by the Park camp, the prosecution is likely to investigate into the cases related to the company’s share-holding and “New Town” real estate speculation.

As of now, approximately 20 cases of legal accusations involving presidential candidates’ verification are reported in the prosecution. Regarding the three cases assigned to the special team, the government agency said, “We chose them on the criteria of whether there are some suspicions to be disclosed.”

woogija@donga.com