Land May Have Been Purchased in Yongin at President Roh’s Request

It is believed that President Roh personally asked Changshin Textile President Kang Keum-won, the president of an aid association for the then-candidate Roh, to purchase land in Yongin City belonging to Lee Ki-myoung while running for the presidential candidacy in 2002.

Kang, who was arrested on charges of providing 1.9 billion won in illicit political funds to President Roh by purchasing Lee’s land illegally, stated at a public trial held by the Seoul district court on January 13 that “President Roh asked me to purchase the land in Yongin when he was campaigning to be a presidential candidate.”

“During the election, as the issue of Jang Soo-chun’s debts grew and as Lee became involved in the business of putting land up for auction, President Roh said that he would tell Chairman Kang personally,” said Ahn Hee-jeong, one of Roh’s aides who was involved in the case and who stood trial together with president Kang.

“After winning the election, people around him said, referring to the purchase of land in Yongin ‘What a lucky break,’ ” said Kang, regarding his cancellation of the land sales contract with Lee. “Lee wanted to take his land back. I cancelled the contract to help President Roh.”

Regarding the 100 million won in Sun & Moon’s funds that he accepted through Lee Gwang-jae, the former chief of the Office for the Government Policy Coordination, Ahn said that he “spent that money without judging its character because it was given to me.”

He also said, regarding the two billion won that he provided to Kang, that he did not pay for the sale of the land in Yongin, but that he reserved it as a preliminary provision in a housekeeping role.

It became known at today’s public trial that the office of the Oasis Water bottled-water sales company, of which Ahn was president, was in the building. The office belongs to Sun & Moon President Moon Byoung-wook.

“In my guess, Jang Soo-chun’s early president, Hong Kyeong-tae, was Chairman Moon’s junior in high school. That is why they made use of it,” Ahn said when responding to questioning about the reason from the prosecution.

In response to this, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Yoon Tae-young said that “since the matter is pending in court at present, the case will be decided by the Department of Justice. Cheong Wa Dae’s position is that it will not mention the matter from the trial.”

The trial division has planned to schedule the two cases - Kang’s tax evasion and misappropriation trial and the Yongin land sale trial – back to back. The next public trial will be held at 11 a.m. on January 27.

Soo-Kyung Kim skkim@donga.com