Ongoing BBK Controversy Over Document Forgery

Kim Gyeong-jun, a key figure in the BBK case, and the Grand National Party (GNP) are engaged in a fierce battle by submitting “crucial evidence” to support their respective claims.

Kim`s elder sister, Erica Kim, through a local daily on Friday, revealed an original secret agreement, which allegedly proves GNP candidate Lee Myung-bak`s ownership of BBK. The conservative GNP firmly dismissed all arguments, saying that Lee’s registered stamp used on the documents was not his, raising the possibility of forgery of the documents and releasing documents containing legal registration of his seal and a certified seal impression.

Controversy Over Seal’s Authenticity-

In an interview with a local newspaper, Erica Kim released original copies of the behind-the-scenes contracts, which allegedly contain candidate Lee Myung-bak`s agreement to sell 610,000 stocks of BBK to Kim for five billion won. The documents were written in Korean on two pages of A4 format and were titled, “the contract of stock-dealing.”

Kim’s family argued that the authenticity of the documents is obvious given the name and the stamp of Lee at the bottom of the documents. Concerning this allegation, the GNP immediately responded that Lee’s seal used on the documents were different from Lee’s registered stamp.

Hong Jun-pyo, chairman of the GNP clean politics committee, held a press conference on Friday, saying, “Comparison of the two seals clearly reveals the difference between them. The detailed features of the seal indicate that they are totally different. Even to the naked eye, it is clear that they are not identical.” He summoned a certified seal registration as well as other documents, including the minutes book of LKe Bank’s board meeting as material evidence.

Possibility of Lee’s Use of Different Stamps-

The documents submitted by Erica Kim were signed on February 21, 2000. At that time, however, Lee reportedly did not use the stamp when signing the contract.

In order to verify this allegation, the GNP released Lee’s legal seal registration. According to this document, Lee reported a new seal after losing his original registered seal on February 24, 2000. However, the documents, which were signed on February 21, 2000 and released by Erica Kim, contain the seal impression of Lee’s new registered stamp. This implies that Lee used a new stamp that was not registered.

Chairman Hong said, “When Kim’s side fabricated the papers, they seemed to have failed to realize the change of Lee’s stamp. The different features of the stamp obviously suggest the fabrication of the documents.” To date, Kim’s side has not lodged any complaints against this assertion by the GNP.

Documents with Numerous Clerical Errors-

Lee’s signature is absent on the Korean version of the contract, and it contains only a stamp impression. Chairman Hong said, “Lee used his signature and stamp when he signed a 500 million won contract over the same period, and it does not make sense at all why he did not use them when he made a contract 10 times bigger.”

Some pointed out that the contract shows many grammatical errors. Hong argued that, “I heard that the contract is inferior and contains many spelling and grammatical errors.” Regarding this, Kim Jong-ryeol from the UNDP said, “Some say that this is because Kim Gyeong-jun is Korean American. Isn’t this proof that Kim, who is not good at Korean grammar, forged the documents himself?”

Different Content of the Contract-

According to the Korean language version of the documents, Lee sold 600,000 stocks of BBK to Kim at the price of five billion won.

However, the GNP reputed the allegation by saying that until May 9, 2000, 98.36 percent, or 600,000, of BBK stocks were owned by E-capital, submitting the stock-related documents that Kim handed over to Namdaemun District Tax Office as evidence. This implies that Lee could not have sold the stocks since the BBK stocks were owned by a third party.

Table Turned in Favor of Lee?-

Lee appeared confident at the general meeting at the National Assembly on November 23, saying, “I hope that the prosecutors’ office clarifies the allegations of my involvement with BBK stock manipulation or its ownership. If the prosecution is unable to release its investigation result by the time of the registration, it should announce the results even when it brings an indictment.”

GNP spokesperson Na Gyeong-won stated that, “The allegations of the “secret contract agreement” turned out to be false. It clearly demonstrated the fraudulent wrongdoings of Kim’s family.” The GNP visited the headquarters of the Munhwa Broadcasting Company (MBC) to protest that the TV network aired an interview with Erica Kim without any filtering.

The GNP delegation, led by GNP vice floor leader Shim Jae-cheol, urged MBC broadcast network to prevent recurrence of the mistake. The party decided to report to the prosecution and the National Election Committee after reviewing whether the network violated the elections laws by distributing unfound rumors.

Regarding this aggressive move by the GNP, Kim’s family has restrained themselves.

The UNDP pressed the prosecution to make a speedy investigation into the BBK scandal. UNDP floor leader Kim Hyo-seok said at the meeting, “Some sources of the prosecution say that the announcement of the investigation will be impossible before the presidential candidacy registration on the basis of the verifying procedures necessary to prove the documents’ authenticity. Do we have to just wait and see?”

mhpark@donga.com