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Nominee for highest prosecution post bribed

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2007/11/13/200711130037.asp

Prosecutor-general nominee Lim Chai-jin was often bribed by the Samsung Group, a progressive priests' group claimed yesterday.

The Catholic Priests' Association for Justice disclosed the names of three senior officials who they allege were illegally lobbied by the nation' largest conglomerate.

The two others are Lee Kwi-nam, head of the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and Lee Jong-baek, chairman of the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The information came from Kim Yong-chul, Samsung's former top attorney, who says he has a list of law enforcement officials who received money from Samsung.

Both Samsung and the officials in question deny the allegations.

"This is groundless and malicious slander to damage (us)," a Samsung spokesman said.

Lim also told reporters, "I have never received any bribe from Samsung Group. I am even not acquainted with Kim Yong-chul."

The National Assembly is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on his nomination today.

State prosecutors yesterday began a probe into allegations by Kim and the priests that the company raised slush funds and bribed top government officials and prosecutors. Four members of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office were assigned to the investigation.

Three liberal presidential candidates - Chung Dong-young, Moon Kook-hyun and Kwon Young-ghil - will hold a meeting today to discuss a parliamentary motion for an independent investigation into the case, party officials said.

Kim and the CPAJ have made a series of charges against Samsung Group since late last month.

They said that Samsung stashed away a huge amount of slush funds in over 1,000 bank accounts that were in the names of company executives. About 500 million won ($510,000) in slush funds was kept in bank accounts belonging to Kim, they claimed.

Kim also alleges that he has the list of prosecutors who received bribes from Samsung.

The prosecutor's office has demanded that Kim and the CPAJ disclose the list, insisting that, without this, it won't investigate the case.

"We are disclosing some of the names, in order to give state prosecutors the opportunity to find out truth for themselves," the CPAJ said during a press conference.

The priests also publicized a four-page document detailing allegedly illegal purchases of bonds and shares of Samsung Group's affiliates by Lee Jay-yong, who is the son of the company's chairman, Lee Kun-hee, between 1994 and 1999. The Catholic activists' group says that the document was prepared in 2000.

Samsung has repudiated the allegation, explaining that the group compiled the document in 2003, and submitted it to prosecutors to rebut the claims of certain civic groups regarding illegal wealth transfers from the chairman to his son.


By Jin Dae-woong


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2007.11.13