Prosecutors summon former first lady
Under police guard, Roh Gun-ho, the son of former President Roh Moo-hyun, arrives in Incheon International Airport Saturday night, flying from the U.S.[YONHAP]
Kwon Yang-sook, the former first lady, was summoned by prosecutors on Saturday in Busan for investigation over allegedly receiving $1 million from a tycoon. Kwon is the second wife of a former Korean president to be summoned by prosecutors. Lee Soon-ja, Chun Doo Hwan’s wife, was questioned during a 2004 investigation into the former president’s embezzlement case.
Also yesterday, Roh Gun-ho, the only son of Roh and Kwon, was summoned in Seoul for questioning for his possible involvement in the scandal.
The Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office said Kwon was questioned as a witness at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday for nearly 12 hours, starting around 10:30 a.m.
Roh was being questioned yesterday by prosecutors at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office in central Seoul. [NEWSIS]
Roh said last week that Kwon had received $1 million through former Blue House secretary Chung Sang-moon, who in turn got the money from Park Yeon-cha, chairman of Busan-based Taekwang Industrial. Park has confessed to a series of briberies.
Kwon discussed Roh’s statement, but prosecutors declined to give details, since the investigation into the scandal is ongoing.
Last Thursday, prosecutors in Seoul said Park provided the money on President Roh’s request, whereas an aide close to Roh said the former president borrowed the money from Park.
Hong Man-pyo, senior prosecutor in charge of the case, said Kwon was summoned in accordance with the investigation’s scheduling, and added, “Since there was plenty of questioning on Saturday, we have no immediate plans to bring her back.”
As for the former president himself, Hong also said there’s no timetable yet on when Roh might be summoned.
Sources said it may be difficult to punish Kwon if it turns out that she had used the $1 million only to pay off debts and the money never reached President Roh. One former judge who is a practicing attorney, requesting anonymity, said it would be difficult to find grounds to punish the former first lady “if prosecutors can’t prove Park’s specific requests in exchange for providing the money.”
Meanwhile, Roh Gun-ho, who arrived in Korea from the United States late Saturday night, was questioned by prosecutors yesterday on whether he had spent any of the $5 million that was transferred from Park to Yeon Cheol-ho, a Roh relative. The junior Roh was also questioned about whether he had spent part or all of the $1 million that his parents reportedly received from Park.
Prosecutors have said that $5 million from the bank account of Park’s Hong Kong affiliate, APC, was remitted to Yeon’s investment firm on Feb. 22, 2008, two days before President Roh’s term ended.
In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo last week, Roh Gun-ho said he accompanied Yeon on a trip to Park’s Vietnam factory to ask for a $5 million investment. Prosecutors suspect that the junior Roh was aware of the nature of the $5 million and that he is a major shareholder of Yeon’s investment company.
While Yeon has said it was a legitimate transaction, prosecutors are looking into whether the money had served as bribe to President Roh. Yeon is the husband of Roh Moo-hyun’s niece, his elder brother’s daughter.
Yeon, who was arrested last Friday for violating the law on foreign currency transactions, was released yesterday. Prosecutors plan to summon him later for additional questioning.
The junior Roh had been staying in San Diego, California, and stopped over at Tokyo’s Narita Airport before landing in Korea. Flanked by police officers and security guards, Roh dodged questions from reporters who had camped out at Incheon International Airport, saying only that he wasn’t “too pleased” about the situation. Roh also avoided reporters as he entered the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office in downtown Seoul.
Moon Jae-in, former chief secretary to Roh, said the former president and his son have nothing to do with the $5 million that Yeon received.
“The money does not belong to former President Roh or to his son,” Moon said. “Gun-ho might have met Park together with Yeon, but he has nothing to do with the money.”
Meanwhile, Roh Moo-hyun wrote on his Web site yesterday that he needs to “clarify matters and defend himself” over inaccurate media reports that have assumed erroneous facts to be true.
“The media reports say Chairman Park said things that are different from what I know,” Roh wrote. “If they’re true, then I’d have to clarify why Park is saying what he is saying. It won’t be easy but I will do my best to defend the truth.”
By Kim Seung-hyun, Jung Hyo-sik [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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