Byeon Summoned for Eight Round of Questioning

The special investigation team of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors` Office, which is investigating the “Shin Jeong-ah Gate” scandal, questioned Byeon Yang-gyun, the 58-year-old former presidential policy planner, for nearly seven hours on Friday. Byeon has already been summoned eight times since he was first brought in for questioning on the 16th of this month.

Shin Jeong-ah, the 35-year-old fake doctorate degree holder of Yale University, was not recalled to the prosecutor`s office that day. In other words, Byeon, whose arrest warrant has not been issued, has been summoned more often than Shin, who has been brought in to the prosecution’s office seven times.

“We will summon Byeon several times more before we seek an arrest warrant for him,” a prosecution official said. It is unusual for the prosecution to summon a suspect, who served as a high-ranking government officer, so many times before he or she is indicted or arrested. Some point out that the prosecution tactics remind them of an old saying, “Chil Jong Pal Geum,” which translates into “Release him seven times to capture him the eighth time.”

People both within and outside the prosecution believe that a series of summons issued to Byeon illustrates that the prosecution has changed its target of investigation from Shin to Byeon.

In this regard, some speculate that Shin has been a stepping stone to prove the charges of Byeon, rather than being the ultimate target of its investigation. Others view that prosecutors have run into a stumbling block in further investigating into Shin’s alleged charges because she has persistently denied all allegations even if evidence was presented to her.

The prosecution, which plans to request a warrant for Byeon on charges of abusing his authority, is now focusing their efforts on verifying whether he used his power to help Shin when Sungkok Art Museum, where she worked as chief curator, received about $1 million of corporate sponsorship from a dozen companies.

In addition, prosecutors raided the office of planning of Dongguk University to find evidence that proves whether Byeon promised to provide subsidies to the university when the university was considering hiring Shin as an assistant professor.

Prosecutors are making all-out efforts to secure physical evidence that will help them pressure related-corporations or Dongguk University to confess their involvement.

Meanwhile, Shin looked rather relaxed. On Friday afternoon, Shin left Kangdong Catholic Hospital where she had been hospitalized for 10 days since the court dismissed the arrest warrant for her on September 18. Shin also decided to stay at the Gyeonghui Palace’s Morning, a studio in Jongno, downtown Seoul, where Byeon frequented while serving as the Minister of Planning and Budget and a Cheong Wa Dae official.

Earlier on the day, Shin stayed at her attorney Park Jong-rok’s office from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to discuss countermeasures against the prosecution’s probe.

Observers gave varying interpretations over Byeon’s meetings with concerned parties of which Shin sought favors. Byeon met them in person when Shin tried to get a professorship position as Dongguk University, to cover up allegations of her diploma’s forgery and to seek corporate sponsorship.

Some even raise suspicions that Byeon made a written promise to pay a huge amount of money if he refused Shin’s requests. When Byeon met Hong Ki-sam, former Dongguk University president, in May 2005 to request that he hire Shin as a professor, he allegedly mentioned offering government subsidies to the school in return. In addition, Byeon not only personally met with high school alumni who served as board members of the conglomerates when their companies sponsored the Sungkok Art Museum, but he also met Buddhist monk Jangyun, a member of the board who first raised suspicions of Shin’s degree forgery, in July 2007.

“I guess Shin strongly sought favors from Byeon, who consequently responded rather strongly. If one asks a favor over the phone, the involved person would consider it as a regular request, but if one asks a favor face to face, the person is likely to fear possible unfair treatment,” a prosecution official said.