Ex-bodyguard joins Roh in detention
Ex-bodyguard joins Roh in detention
SEOUL (Reuter): South Korea's Roh Tae-woo spent his first full day behind bars yesterday but was not likely to run into his ex- bodyguard, who was detained earlier in the day as the fallout grew from the country's slush fund scandal.
Lee Hyun-woo, who ran the country's intelligence agency and later exposed former president Roh's slush fund secrets, joined his one-time boss in the same detention center as prosecutors took him on several charges, including bribery.
The domestic Yonhap news agency said prison officials were making sure that the two did not run into each other while staying in the Seoul Detention House in the southern Kyonggi province.
Lee was arrested after being grilled by state prosecutors for more than 50 hours over his role in managing some of Roh's US$654 million slush funds.
"In the eyes of the public, Mr Lee may seem to be following his ex-boss into detention as a bodyguard," Yonhap said. "But prison officials say the two have been put into different wards to prevent them from running into each other."
Detention house officials were not available for comment.
It was Lee Hyun-woo who stepped forward a few days after an opposition lawmaker accused Roh of secretly building up millions during his office to confess that he had personally managed a 48.5 billion won ($63 million) slush fund for the ex-president.
A prosecution official said Lee, once Roh's top bodyguard and later director of the Agency for the National Security Planning, was suspected of receiving 2.65 billion won ($3.44 million) from business tycoons in return for giving them favors in lucrative projects.
The retired four-star general on Thursday became the first South Korean state of head, retired or serving, to be arrested.
Roh, who was reported to have been given prison number "100", was visited yesterday by his only son Jae-hun, who carried some history books and clothes.
The scandal threatened to engulf more prominent figures.
Heads of business groups whom prosecutors accused of giving bribes to Roh would soon be summoned again for questioning, said a prosecution official.
Prosecutors on Thursday said they have evidence Roh took more than $300 million in bribes from 30 business moguls during his 1988-93 term in office.
"Several heads of business groups cannot escape re-summoning," the prosecution official said without elaborating.
Roh tearfully confessed last month to amassing a $654 million slush fund and said he still retained $242 million.
Guards were maintaining a round-the-clock vigil outside the cell housing Roh, who could be spending his 63rd birthday next month behind bars.
Prosecutors were also expected to question politicians suspected of having dipped into Roh's secret coffers.