A close aide to South Korea's former opposition leader has been arrested on charges of collecting US$13 million of illegal campaign funds packed into a truck from LG, South Korea's second largest conglomerate, prosecutors said yesterday.
Prosecutors expanded their probe into other big businesses, focusing on allegations that the companies provided large sums of cash to the unsuccessful campaign of Lee Hoi-chang, who lost to President Roh Moo-hyun by a thin margin in last December's election.
Suh Jong-woo, a lawyer who served as legal adviser for Lee, did not answer questions from reporters as he was hauled away to a prison shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
Suh, 60, was accused of meeting an LG executive at a highway gas stop in November last year and collecting a 2.5-tonne truck full of cash boxes. He is suspected of delivering the money to Lee's campaign office in violation of political funding laws.
Choi Don-woong, an opposition legislator and Lee aide, was accused of first asking for the money from LG. Choi was not arrested under a law that bars arrests of lawmakers without parliamentary approval.
Prosecutors launched its probe when allegations of corruption erupted involving three former aides of president Roh earlier this year.
Shaken by the scandals, Roh proposed holding a referendum on his tenure and vowed to step down if he fails to win a fresh mandate from the people. At the same time, he asked prosecutors to make a "full-scale revelation" of how much political parties spent in the run-up to last December's presidential poll -- a move the opposition calls a ploy aimed at reversing his predicament.
Prosecutors have since ransacked offices of such conglomerates as Samsung, Hyundai, Lotte and SK.
Unconfirmed news reports yesterday said other conglomerates also have provided Lee's campaign with as much cash as LG. These conglomerates did not comment on the news reports.
Choi Do-sool, Roh's aide for 20 years, was arrested in October on charges of receiving US$956,000 in bribes from SK. Two other Roh aides are under investigation.
Prosecutors later arrested a former financial official at Lee's opposition Grand National Party (GNP), on charges of receiving US$8.3 million in illegal funds from SK, the nation's No. 3 conglomerate. The money was allegedly delivered in shopping bags at an underground parking lot.
After his election defeat, Lee quit as GNP head and now stays in California.
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