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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Reports: South Korean prosecutors to quiz ex-president |
| 2009-04-19 |
| [Jakarta Post] South Korean prosecutors will question former President Roh Moo-hyun about whether he received millions of dollars from a businessman while in office, news reports said Saturday. Prosecutors questioned Roh's wife, son and a relative last week on suspicion they accepted $6 million from businessman Park Yeon-cha, head of a local shoe manufacturer, while Roh served as president in 2003-2008. Yonhap news agency reported Saturday that prosecutors will summon and question Roh for the first time next week. Prosecutors suspect the $6 million was eventually given to the former president, it said, without citing any sources. Cable news network YTN reported that prosecutors would likely summon Roh on Thursday and Friday, citing an unnamed prosecution official. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seoul was not available for comment. Earlier this month, Roh admitted that his wife received $1 million from Park in 2007 but suggested it was not a bribe. He also said he was aware that Park separately gave $5 million to his brother's son-in-law in early 208 to help establish an investment firm based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven. Roh said he believed the $5 million transaction was an investment. Media reports have said Roh's only son - Roh Gun-ho - is a major shareholder in the investment firm and was allegedly involved in getting the $5 millin from Park. They said he also allegedly used some of the $1 million for living expenses in the United States. The bribery scandal is a major blow for the ex-president, a former human rights lawyer and liberal politician who took office in 2003 as a reformist with a clean image. He stepped down as president early last year. Several of his former aides and associates have also been investigated on suspicion of taking illicit money from Park, who has been detained since being indicted in December on separate bribery and tax evasion charges. Roh's elder brother was indicted in December on charges of acceptng money to help a securities firm sell assets to a state-supervised bank. |
| Posted by:Fred |