`Ex-Pres. Aide Helped Roh`s Relative Get High Position`

Former senior presidential secretary for general affairs Jung Sang-moon is alleged to have helped an in-law of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s elder brother become a senior staff member at a financial company.

Several days ago, prosecutors said Roh Gun-pyeong asked his brother to appoint Kim Jung-bok, who once headed the Patriots and Veterans Affairs Ministry and is the father of Taekwang Industry Chairman Park Yeon-cha’s son-in-law, as national tax chief.

Hence, suspicion is mounting that the Roh family engaged in far-reaching influence peddling in personnel management while Roh was president.

At a trial, prosecutors asked the father of Roh Gun-pyeong’s son-in-law, identified only as Yeon, how he became an auditor at a financial company in 2005 and 2006.

The witness said, "I took the job after receiving a request from the company, and only later did I learn that (President Roh’s) secretary Jung helped.”

Yeon is the father of Yeon Chul-ho, former President Roh’s son-in-law who received five million U.S. dollars from Park Yeon-cha.

The elder Yeon is suspected of buying shares of Sejong Securities en masse after learning from Roh in advance that the National Agriculture Cooperative Federation would take over the brokerage in 2005 or 2006.

On this, the elder Yeon said, “I just heard from my friend about the acquisition of Sejong Securities at a drinking party and made an investment.”

He said he did ask his son and daughter-in-law to buy Sejong stocks, but did not know where they got the money because he did not discuss financial transactions with his son.

Prosecutors said Yeon Chul-ho purchased 210,000 shares of Sejong and later sold them to earn 500 million won (500,000 U.S. dollars), while his daughter-in-law also purchased shares worth 900 million won (900,000 dollars) and sold them a month later to reap 42 million won (42,000 dollars) in net profit.

Yeon Chul-ho and his wife attended the trial yesterday, but shunned reporters’ questions.

bell@donga.com