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Speaker’s ex-aide confesses he reported returned bribe to then campaign strategist
Public prosecutors probing an alleged vote-buying scheme by one of the ruling Saenuri Party’s former chiefs during its internal leadership race have reportedly secured a statement implicating Kim Hyo-jae, a senior aide to President Lee Myung-bak.
With the statement, made by Koh Myung-jin, a former aide to the former party chief, Rep. Park Hee-tae, investigators were expected to accelerate their probe to shed light on the scope of the bribery scheme and its masterminds.
The scandal broke out last month when ruling party Rep. Koh Seung-duk disclosed that he received, and later returned, a cash envelope containing 3 million won from Park’s camp shortly before the party’s leadership election in 2008.
In a recent interrogation session, Park’s former aide Koh confessed that he handed over the money returned by Rep. Koh to Cho Jeong-man who handled campaign funds in Park’s camp and reported it to Kim, who was at that time chief strategist for Park. Previously, he had insisted that he used the money personally and did not report it to his superiors in the camp.
“I made a decision after watching how the person responsible is trying to save himself only, by using his power and the sacrifice of his subordinates,” Koh wrote in a confession note, according to local media.
Park headed the ruling party for about a year till September 2009 and became the National Assembly Speaker in June 2010. He resigned Thursday from the parliamentary speaker’s post, but insisted on his innocence.
Kim, under growing pressure to resign from his office in the Blue House, also denies any knowledge of the alleged bribery scheme.
Meanwhile, the investigators tracing the flow of funds at Park’s camp during the 2008 campaign found that the lawmaker cashed about 50 million won of checks just before the leadership vote. It was part of 100 million won that the lawmaker said he received from Ramid Group, a local resort and leisure group, in commission on a legal case he received along with another lawyer. Park is a former prosecutor and attorney.
Prosecutors were to summon Cho later Thursday for further questions on the cash envelopes and plan to subpoena Kim in the near future.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)
Public prosecutors probing an alleged vote-buying scheme by one of the ruling Saenuri Party’s former chiefs during its internal leadership race have reportedly secured a statement implicating Kim Hyo-jae, a senior aide to President Lee Myung-bak.
With the statement, made by Koh Myung-jin, a former aide to the former party chief, Rep. Park Hee-tae, investigators were expected to accelerate their probe to shed light on the scope of the bribery scheme and its masterminds.
The scandal broke out last month when ruling party Rep. Koh Seung-duk disclosed that he received, and later returned, a cash envelope containing 3 million won from Park’s camp shortly before the party’s leadership election in 2008.
In a recent interrogation session, Park’s former aide Koh confessed that he handed over the money returned by Rep. Koh to Cho Jeong-man who handled campaign funds in Park’s camp and reported it to Kim, who was at that time chief strategist for Park. Previously, he had insisted that he used the money personally and did not report it to his superiors in the camp.
“I made a decision after watching how the person responsible is trying to save himself only, by using his power and the sacrifice of his subordinates,” Koh wrote in a confession note, according to local media.
Park headed the ruling party for about a year till September 2009 and became the National Assembly Speaker in June 2010. He resigned Thursday from the parliamentary speaker’s post, but insisted on his innocence.
Kim, under growing pressure to resign from his office in the Blue House, also denies any knowledge of the alleged bribery scheme.
Meanwhile, the investigators tracing the flow of funds at Park’s camp during the 2008 campaign found that the lawmaker cashed about 50 million won of checks just before the leadership vote. It was part of 100 million won that the lawmaker said he received from Ramid Group, a local resort and leisure group, in commission on a legal case he received along with another lawyer. Park is a former prosecutor and attorney.
Prosecutors were to summon Cho later Thursday for further questions on the cash envelopes and plan to subpoena Kim in the near future.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
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