ID :
34571
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34571
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Prosecutors deny targeting previous government officials
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Monday they have no intention of targeting previous government officials even as former President Roh Moo-hyun's brother and his key associate face corruption investigations over the 2006 sale of a brokerage house.
The months-long probe into Roh's elder brother Gun-pyeong and Park Yen-cha, the
former president's sponsor and head of shoemaker Taekwang Industry Co., has
spurred liberals' accusations that the current conservative government might be
seeking revenge.
Roh Gun-pyeong was already in prosecutors' custody to be questioned over his
alleged role in the takeover of Sejong Securities Co. by the National
Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup.
Park is suspected of reaping sizable stock earnings when Sejong share prices
jumped at news of the takeover.
Dimissing the revenge scenario, Choi Jai-kyeong, spokesman for the Supreme
Prosecutors' Office, said the probe centers on suspicious earnings behind the
takeover, not the rumored bribery of politicians.
"No bribery list has come into our hands, and lobbying is not part of our
investigation," Choi told reporters, referring to the rumored list of politicians
bribed by Park.
"We are not investigating this with a certain kind of intention, but the media
speculation goes on, and we are concerned," he said.
The probe was a sharp blow to Roh, who while in office promoted "clean politics"
and hurled acerbic criticism at bribery. Former presidents have never retired
without their relatives or friends being convicted of corruption by successive
administrations.
Despite the prosecution's denial, a Roh confidante argued that the investigation
is meant to be political revenge.
"The Lee Myung-bak government is investigating to shame the previous
administration," Rep. An Hee-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said.
"This can be seen as nothing but the will to say, 'You are not an exception' (to
corruption)," he said.
The former president's brother, Roh Gun-pyeong, was arrested last week on
allegations of influencing Nonghyup to buy the brokerage firm and accepting as
much as 3 billion won (US$2 million) in bribes from the firm's lobbyists.
He initially denied the allegations, but later changed his position to
acknowledge "some" of them.
In 2004, Roh Gun-pyeong received a suspended jail term for accepting 30 million
won in bribes from Nam Sang-kook, the then head of Daewoo Engineering and
Construction Co. Nam eventually committed suicide by jumping into the Han River
after then President Roh publicly shamed him during a news conference broadcast
nationwide.
The Taekwang chief, Park, was suspected of reaping 20 billion won by investing in
Sejong Securities just months before Nonghyup signed the acquisition deal in
January 2006. Sejong share prices rose several-fold when news of the takeover
broke.
Park was also alleged to have acquired Nonghyup's chemical unit at a bargain.
hkim@yna.co.kr
The months-long probe into Roh's elder brother Gun-pyeong and Park Yen-cha, the
former president's sponsor and head of shoemaker Taekwang Industry Co., has
spurred liberals' accusations that the current conservative government might be
seeking revenge.
Roh Gun-pyeong was already in prosecutors' custody to be questioned over his
alleged role in the takeover of Sejong Securities Co. by the National
Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup.
Park is suspected of reaping sizable stock earnings when Sejong share prices
jumped at news of the takeover.
Dimissing the revenge scenario, Choi Jai-kyeong, spokesman for the Supreme
Prosecutors' Office, said the probe centers on suspicious earnings behind the
takeover, not the rumored bribery of politicians.
"No bribery list has come into our hands, and lobbying is not part of our
investigation," Choi told reporters, referring to the rumored list of politicians
bribed by Park.
"We are not investigating this with a certain kind of intention, but the media
speculation goes on, and we are concerned," he said.
The probe was a sharp blow to Roh, who while in office promoted "clean politics"
and hurled acerbic criticism at bribery. Former presidents have never retired
without their relatives or friends being convicted of corruption by successive
administrations.
Despite the prosecution's denial, a Roh confidante argued that the investigation
is meant to be political revenge.
"The Lee Myung-bak government is investigating to shame the previous
administration," Rep. An Hee-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said.
"This can be seen as nothing but the will to say, 'You are not an exception' (to
corruption)," he said.
The former president's brother, Roh Gun-pyeong, was arrested last week on
allegations of influencing Nonghyup to buy the brokerage firm and accepting as
much as 3 billion won (US$2 million) in bribes from the firm's lobbyists.
He initially denied the allegations, but later changed his position to
acknowledge "some" of them.
In 2004, Roh Gun-pyeong received a suspended jail term for accepting 30 million
won in bribes from Nam Sang-kook, the then head of Daewoo Engineering and
Construction Co. Nam eventually committed suicide by jumping into the Han River
after then President Roh publicly shamed him during a news conference broadcast
nationwide.
The Taekwang chief, Park, was suspected of reaping 20 billion won by investing in
Sejong Securities just months before Nonghyup signed the acquisition deal in
January 2006. Sejong share prices rose several-fold when news of the takeover
broke.
Park was also alleged to have acquired Nonghyup's chemical unit at a bargain.
hkim@yna.co.kr
