Draft Dodging Investigators Arrest Parliamentary Liaison Officer

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Draft Dodging Investigators Arrest Parliamentary Liaison Officer

The joint investigation team for draft dodgers - co-headed by Lee Seung-ku, first director of special investigations at the Seoul District Prosecutor's Office, and Suh Young-suk, chief of the Ministry of National Defense's Prosecution Bureau - have arrested Lee Sun-ho, 57, on the allegation of handing over bribes. Lee worked in the Military Manpower Administration's Planning Bureau as a liaison to the National Assembly.

Lee has worked as liaison for 20 years and is suspected of having solved military service problems for assemblymen's aides. With his arrest, it appears that the probe into irregularities involving exemptions of sons of former and current lawmakers will become more active.

Lee is alleged to have delivered $15 million won ($13,500) to Hah Joong-hong, 52, who was arrested in October 1996. Lee handed over the money to Hah, a conscription aide at the physical examination center of the MMA Seoul Branch, asking him to deliver it to military doctors, so that two examinees could be exempted from military service.

An official in the joint investigation team said, "We have circumstantial evidence that Lee has taken care of military-related problems for lawmakers' aides and secretaries as he frequented the National Assembly for almost 20 years. Nevertheless, he denies the allegation that he placed requests for exemptions, although he admits to receiving 'pocket money' from assemblymen's aides."

On this particular day, the investigation team subpoenaed five politicians' sons, thus completing probes into 18 persons out of 31 on the investigation list.




by Kim Sang-woo

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