Posted September. 21, 2007 07:43,
The Busan District Prosecutors Office conducted a court hearing on former presidential protocol secretary Jeong Yun-jae who was sought by an arrest warrant on suspicions for receiving bribes from building contractor Kim Sang-jin (42, indicted), in return for helping him avoid a tax audit on September 20.
In return for helping him avoid a tax audit, former secretary Jeong allegedly received about 20 million won in total after accepting 10 million won in cash from Kim on December 31, 2006 in Busan at his home, followed by another 10 million won from Kim given to his driver Cho to hand the money over to Jeongs relatives.
On the same pretext, Jeong is additionally suspected of asking Kim to help his older brother win contracts for large-scale construction projects located in Yeonje-gu, Busan worth 1.26 billion won, which is against the Koreas Attorneys-at-Law Act.
At a court hearing which lasted for more than two hours, Jeong reportedly complained about the fact that his relatives were never questioned by the prosecution despite their involvement in the scandal, and the fact that prosecutors assumed him to be guilty only based on circumstantial evidence, such as tracing Kims computer records.