Kim Dae-jung's son arrested

Kim Dae-jung's son arrested

SOUTH KOREA: A son of President Kim Dae-jung was arrested Saturday on suspicion of influence-peddling in one of a series of scandals that has sapped the popularity of his father, local YTN television news reported.

Kim Hong-gul, 39, the youngest of the president's three sons, was accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes last year from a businessman who is now in jail.

A judge issued an arrest warrant for Kim Hong-gul while he was at the state prosecutor's office in Seoul. He was immediately arrested. If convicted of bribery, he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Kim Dae-jung, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who campaigned for the presidency on a platform of clean government, has not been implicated in any scandal. However, corruption investigations involving government officials as well as two of his sons has hurt his image.