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S.Korea ex-president's wife, son quizzed

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-13 08:37

SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors have questioned the wife of former president Roh Moo-hyun on suspicion of accepting $1 million from a detained businessman at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, an official said Sunday.

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Prosecutors quizzed Kwon Yang-sook on Saturday to determine whether she received the money from Park Yeon-cha, head of a local shoe manufacturer, via a former presidential aide in 2007, according to a prosecution spokesman.

Sunday, prosecutors also summoned Roh's only son - Roh Gun-ho - to investigate whether he used some of the $1 million for living expenses in the United States, spokesman Cho Eun-suk said.

Roh Moo-hyun, who stepped down as president early last year, offered a public apology last week and admitted his "house" took money from Park. He said he would cooperate in an investigation.

Roh Gun-ho, son of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, arrives at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, Saturday night, April 11, 2009 as he returns from the United States. [Agencies]

The admission was a blow for the ex-president, a former human rights lawyer and liberal politician who took office in 2003 as a reformist with a clean image.

But Sunday, Roh complained about media reports of the scandal, saying many were "groundless" and "different" from the truth.

In a statement on his website, he also strongly suggested that the money his wife received was not a bribe.

South Korean media have reported that Park told investigators that he provided the money to Kwon at the former president's request, and that he separately gave $5 million to help a relative of Roh Moo-hyun establish an investment firm based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, in early 2008 in an unauthorized financial transaction.

Media reports said the junior Roh is a major shareholder in the investment firm and was allegedly involved in getting the $5 million from Park. Former president Roh said he believed the $5 million transaction was a mere investment.

The son, who has been studying at a US university, returned to South Korea on Saturday night.

Yonhap news agency reported Sunday that Kwon told investigators she used the $1 million to pay back debts. But Yonhap, citing no sources, said prosecutors believe the money was eventually conveyed to former president Roh.

Yonhap quoted senior prosecutor Hong Man-pyo as saying that prosecutors have not determined when to summon the former president.

Several of Roh Moon-hyun's former aides and associates are also being investigated on suspicion of taking illicit money from Park, who has been detained since being indicted on separate bribery and tax evasion charges in December.

Roh Moo-hyun's elder brother was indicted on bribery charges in December, accused of accepting money to help a securities firm sell assets to a state-supervised bank.

Corruption has been endemic in South Korean politics, with businessmen often giving money to presidential aides, associates and leading politicians in return for favors.