Hyun-chul may have hidden huge fortune: Reports<\/p>\n
SEOUL (AFP): South Korean President Kim Young-sam's son and
\nhis associates are suspected of hiding tens of millions of
\ndollars and prosecutors plan to arrest the son on graft charges
\non May 10, press reports said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors also found that the son, Kim Hyun-chul, had
\naccepted some three million dollars directly from several firms
\nand are investigating whether the money was kickbacks for
\ninfluence peddling, the reports said.<\/p>\n
State KBS radio and newspapers here said prosecutors had
\nconfirmed that Lee Sung-ho, who allegedly operates Hyun-Chul's
\nhidden assets, had diverted and laundered US$76 million from his
\nconstruction company, Dai-Ho.<\/p>\n
Lee left for the United Sates immediately after Hyun-chul's
\nname surfaced in the course of a massive loans-for-kickbacks
\nscandal surrounding the Hanbo business group in January.<\/p>\n
The prosecution has been pressuring Lee's relatives to
\npersuade him to return home, but Hyun-chul has advised him not to
\ncome back until his case is wrapped up, a leading newspaper,
\nDong-A, said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors declined to confirm or deny the reports.<\/p>\n
Hyun-chul, 38, has no official position but has been dogged by
\nendless allegations of graft and influence peddling although his
\nfather has made an anticorruption campaign his government's top
\npriority.<\/p>\n
His father will issue a second public apology over the son and
\npledge to reform laws on raising political funds and campaigning,
\nDong-A said.<\/p>\n
Dong-A also said the prosecution would summon the son on May 9
\nand arrest him formally the following day on graft charges.<\/p>\n
\"We have decided to conclude the Kim Hyun-chul case by May 10
\nand set the timetable for summoning him accordingly,\" Dong-A
\ndaily quoted a high-ranking prosecution source as saying.<\/p>\n
\"However, we'll continue questioning him to collect evidence
\nuntil we indict him around the end of this month,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors are also tracing $34 million of political funds
\nleft over from the 1992 presidential election allegedly hidden by
\nHyun-chul in business firms and bank accounts, Kookmin daily
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors arrested two close associates of Hyun-chul on
\nWednesday for influence peddling, tightening the noose around the
\npresident's son.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors also said that Hyun-chul had accepted some
\n$336,000 from Dooyang business group, which allegedly solicited
\nthe son's help to win a multimillion-dollar legal dispute over
\nshare ownership.<\/p>\n
But Dooyang Group, a mid-sized conglomerate, said the $336,000
\nhad been a simple donation of political funds to Kim Hyun-chul,
\nwho happened to attend the same high school as the group
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Kim Young-sam said repeatedly after his inauguration in 1992,
\nthat he had not taken a penny from businesses, unlike from his
\njailed predecessors, Chun Doo-Hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who between
\nthem were found to have amassed $1.5 billion in slush funds.<\/p>\n
But Lee Hoe-chang, a strong presidential candidate and
\nexecutive chairman of the ruling New Korea Party, repeatedly
\ndemanded yesterday, reportedly to the president's dismay, that
\nboth the ruling party and the opposition should release details
\non their spending during the 1992 presidential poll.<\/p>\n
The main opposition National Congress for New Politics charged
\nthe ruling party had spent up to $1.1 billion or some 30 times
\nthe amount the party had reported to election management
\nauthorities.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hyun-chul-may-have-hidden-huge-fortune-reports-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}