Prosecutors summon former Minister Park

The Special Division 1 of the Seoul Prosecutor's Office announced Oct. 6 that a summons has been issued for former Minister of Culture and Tourism Park Jie-Won in connection with the ongoing investigation of the scandal involving the Credit Guarantee Fund Organization, also known as Shinbo.

Prosecutors revealed their intention to investigate whether the former minister had made a call to the former branch manager of the Young-dong branch of Shinbo, Lee Woon-Young, to apply pressure for the extension of loan guarantee to Arc World. The National Police Agency¡¯s Investigative Division also will ask whether any influence or persuasion led to the scandal.

"As the suspicion hinges on the statement by Lee that he had received a call from the former Minister Park, we shall have them under interrogation face to face," a source at the Prosecutor's Office said.

With the summons of former Minister Park, prosecutors will end their investigation of the Shinbo scandal, and with the indictment against Lee on Oct. 10, they will announce their findings.

Meanwhile, the investigative division of the Seoul Prosecutor's Office, which also is investigating the Hanvit Bank illegal loan scandal, re-summoned the assistant branch manager from Hanvit Bank on Oct. 5 and will ask whether he became involved in the illegal loan through silence after having discovered the irregularity during an audit in January.

The prosecutors investigated the nature and content of the three calls made to former Minster Park between March and May this year.

Lee Myoung-Gun gun43@donga.com