Key Figures from the Five Conglomerates Will be Interviewed This Week

The supreme office of the prosecutors, looking into the case of the SK slush fund, decided to expand its range of investigation into all money related to the presidential election. The prosecutors set its decision in concrete to call up the fund managers of the five major conglomerates-SK, Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and Lotte-who had helped finance the party expenditures during last year’s election. The prosecutors are also picking over the measure to summon employees from other companies, such as Doosan and Poongsan, who were in charge of the funds in order to size up the positives and negatives of offering the election money to the two parties, GNP and MND.

In the case of expanding the range of investigation, the prosecutors have decided to track down the banking accounts of the secret fund and its connection accounts from those which belonged to the parties and the companies.

“The chief of prosecutors, Song Kwang-soo, will reassess his viewpoint through an internal discussion on the problem on November 3,” said the spokesperson of the prosecutors on November 2, unveiling the possibility of expanding the investigation.

The prosecutors are checking up on the intention of the money, $250,000, which Samsung offered to MND during the election, regarding it as an illegal fund that crossed over the legal limit of contribution.

The prosecutors have also confirmed that another $3 million has been transferred into the account of MND from other conglomerates, and they have decided on investigating the related staffs of the conglomerates.

About the suspicion of “double account bookkeeping” stirred up by the MND, the prosecutors will call up Noh Kwan-kyoo, the chief accountant of MND, and Lee Sang-soo, the congressman of Yeolin Woori Party, who took the position as chief accountant of the MND election committee during the presidential election last year, to investigate intensively on around November 3.

The prosecutors will also interview Lee Jae-hyun, the former accountant of GNP who is now in custody, to investigate whether he set aside funds from the other companies except SK consisting of secret funds of $8 million and party expenditures of $2.5 million.

In the near future, the prosecutors will also inform its intention to interview the GNP’s major election figures including Kim Young-il.

Wi-Yong Jung Tae-Hoon Lee viyonz@donga.com jefflee@donga.com