A confidant of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun has been indicted for his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal, prosecutors said yesterday.
Prosecutors said Jung Sang-moon, presidential secretary for administrative affairs during the Roh presidency between 2003 and last year, was accused of embezzling 1.25 billion won (US$990,000) from the presidential budget.
He was also accused of accepting 400 million won in bribes from an arrested businessman, shoemaker Park Yeon-cha, before the end of Roh’s term early last year.
DENIAL
Roh denied his role in the case on April 30 when prosecutors questioned him about payments by Park worth US$1 million to Roh’s wife and another payment of US$5 million.
Prosecutors said the US$5 million eventually went to Roh’s son, Roh Gun-ho, through one of his relatives. Roh denied this.
Having won office partly on an anti-corruption platform and served from 2003 to last year, Roh has publicly apologized for his family’s involvement in the case but has not admitted personal wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge the former president.
FORMER LEADERS
Five former presidents including Roh have been tarnished by scandals involving either themselves or their families.
Apart from Roh, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo personally faced a criminal probe.
Chun and Roh Tae-woo were convicted in 1995 of receiving bribes and inciting mutiny. Both were sentenced to death but pardoned in 1997.
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