hankyoreh

former President Roh Moo-hyun

　By Kim Jeong-pil　

　The Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office is showing intentions to investigate suspicions that former president Roh Moo-hyun‘s daughter Roh Jeong-yeon illegally bought a luxury apartment in New Jersey. Former Taekwang Group chairman and Roh financial supporter Park Yeon-cha has been questioned. Some point out, however, that the renewed dredging up of “money matters” related to Roh’s family by prosecutors, who following Roh‘s death claimed that there was no right of arraignment, may be akin to producing smoke without a fire, given the lack of legal grounds for punishment.

　The facts currently known indicate that this case relates to the Foreign Exchange Control Act. In other words, In January 2009, Roh Jeong-yeon sent the one million dollars (1.3 billion Korean won) for the purchase of the apartment to its owner, “Gyeong,” through brothers by the name of “Lee” and a foreign car importer by the name of “Eun,” using an illegal forex technique. Gyeong, a US lawyer, is believed to be the figure who sold the luxury apartment on the bank of the Hudson River in New Jersey, with a view of New York City.

　The Prosecution Service allocated this case not to the external affairs department of a working district prosecutors’ office, but to the SPO‘s Central Investigation Department. The CID was in charge of the investigation into former president Roh and still holds the records of that investigation in its archives. This is what has prompted suspicions that prosecutors may be looking to reignite the case, which they previously claimed to have no right of arraignment. An SPO fanned the flames of these suspicions at a press briefing on Wednesday by saying that former justice minister Kim Kyung-han had made a phone call to an SPO executive saying that the lack of right of arraignment immediately after the death of former president Roh applied only to Roh and not to his family.

　Even if the prosecutors’ investigation concludes that Roh Jeong-yeon was the source of the million dollars, punishing her is expected to be difficult. Former president Roh was the only suspect in the charges of bribery against him. That the money given by Park to President Roh‘s widow former first lady Kwon Yang-suk and others was meant to go to Roh Moo-hyun, and that Roh was the actual recipient, were the judgment of prosecutors at the time. The status of Kwon and others was no more than that of testifiers.

　Because former president Roh, whom prosecutors regarded as the ultimate recipient of the money, died, he could not be punished and, ultimately, there was nothing to be gained from an investigation. “When former president Roh was alive, he would have been held legally responsible if the money had gone to him, but a dead person can’t be punished,” said an official from the SPO. “It appears that the inevitable conclusion is to decide that there is no right of arraignment.”

　Some take the view that the punishment of accessories to bribery is possible. In other words, taking the premise that Jeong-yeon received 1.3 billion won from somebody, she may be seen in a broad sense as an accessory to bribery if she made active use of her father‘s status. If it cannot be clearly proven that Jeong-yeon played some kind of role, it will not be possible to punish her. If she claims that the transaction was one between private individuals, it will be hard to punish her as her status is that of a member of the general public.

　Aside from the punishment issue, it is unlikely that Gyeong, a central figure in the case, who lives in the US, will respond to the hasty summons issued by prosecutors. He has no reason to cooperate with an investigation by prosecutors just because he received money when selling an apartment that he owned, and even if he did come back to Korea he would not be obliged to explain whom the money came from. “Even if Gyeong does not cooperate with the investigation, we don’t have many ways of pressuring him,” said an SPO official. “Even if he does come back and agrees to be questioned, it will hard to punish him as long as he was not an accomplice of those that reportedly engaged in illegal forex, like the Lee brothers.”

　Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]