A former ruling Saenuri Party official has been put under arrest on suspicion of taking illegal political funds from a deceased businessman, prosecutors said Friday.
The special prosecution team probing the case said it has put the 54-year-old former official, identified only by his surname Kim, under emergency arrest Thursday night to corroborate a suspected “bribery list” left behind by Sung Woan-jong, who committed suicide in April.
He is suspected of receiving 200 million won ($180,000) in 2012 from Sung, the late chairman of construction firm Keangnam Enterprises. Kim was the chief cospokesperson for President Park Geun-hye, Saenuri’s presidential candidate at the time.
Kim has applied for party nomination in the April general elections, as well as the by-election in July last year.
Major elections took place that year including the parliamentary elections in April and the presidential race in December.
The prosecution said the exact timing of the suspected money delivery remains to be investigated. Kim has denied the allegations.
If the money delivery took place right before the presidential election, the probe is to inevitable expand into any suspected illegality in the Saenuri Party’s presidential election funds.
The prosecution earlier said it will soon indict former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and Hong Joon-pyo, governor of South Gyeongsang Province, on charges of violating the law governing illegal political funds.
The graft scandal surfaced after Sung claimed in a media interview that he offered campaign funds to eight politicians including Lee and Hong before his suicide last month.
The prosecution, meanwhile, has received written responses from the remaining six who were mentioned in Sung’s list. They include Saenuri Rep. Hong Moon-jong, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo and former presidential chiefs of staff Kim Ki-choon and Huh Tae-yeol.
The prosecution had sent letters requesting information on their relations with Sung, as well as their roles at the party in 2012. They said they will decide whether to continue their investigation into any of the six after analyzing the responses.
From news reports
