The prosecution called in ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Rep. Hong Moon-jong for questioning on Monday over allegations that he received illicit campaign funds from deceased business tycoon Sung Woan-jong.

Hong, 60, is the third political bigwig quizzed by prosecutors in connection with the high-profile graft scandal involving President Park Geun-hye’s top aides.

He was suspected of taking 200 million won ($178,000) in illegal campaign funds from Sung, late chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, for then-presidential candidate Park in 2012. Hong was serving as the chief of her election camp.

The three-term lawmaker turned up at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office at around 12:40 p.m. to respond to the summons. Asked whether he admitted to accepting the bribe, Hong curtly replied “No” and said he wanted the truth to be revealed. 

Prosecutors said earlier on Sunday that they will focus on interrogating why Hong met Sung on several occasions and whether he took illicit funds from the deceased businessman.

The graft scandal surfaced after Sung claimed in a media interview that he offered campaign money to eight politicians close to President Park before committing suicide in April. The police found a hand-written note in his pocket that listed the names of the politicians and the bribe amounts he allegedly handed over. Hong’s name was written next to 200 million won.

Investigators have already grilled former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo last month over the bribery accusations. The two political heavyweights are set to be indicted soon without detention on charges of violating the Political Fund Act, prosecutors said.

The prosecution sent inquiry letters late last month to the remaining six politicians listed on Sung’s memo, requesting information on their relations with Sung, as well as their roles at the ruling party in 2012. The six include Hong, incumbent Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-kee, his two predecessors ― Huh Tae-yeol and Kim Ki-choon and Saenuri-affiliated lawmakers ― Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo.

Hong is the first of the remaining six to be physically called in. The summons came after prosecutors found his explanations ― in the written response ― on the money flow and his movements unsatisfactory, prosecutors said.

With the investigation process dragging on endlessly and the six politicians being probed only through written transcripts, the opposition bloc has blasted the prosecution for being soft on them to shield President Park’s administration.

Two months on since the graft scandal broke, prosecutors announced that they will soon indict the ex-prime minister and governor without detention, with the whole process appearing to lose steam and interest from the public.

But sources expect that Hong’s questioning will set the direction for the rest of the probe, and possibly speed up the investigation.

Meanwhile, the court rejected the prosecutors’ request for the arrest of former ruling Saenuri Party official, identified only by his surname Kim, on Sunday night citing lack of evidence. Prosecutors had sought for the arrest on Thursday as part of the widening probe into Sung’s memo. He is suspected of receiving 200 million won in 2012 from Sung when he was the chief cospokesperson for President Park’s election camp.

The focal point in the investigation on Kim was the timing of the delivery of suspected money. Investigators tried to find when he received the money from the late businessman and whether he delivered it to President Park’s election camp through Hong, who was holding a key post in the campaign office.

But they tentatively concluded that Kim took the money in March 2012 ahead of the April parliamentary election and used it for his own campaign, not for the presidential election that took place in December. Kim applied for party nomination in the general election that year.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)