Bribery Scandal May Cloud Korean 2000 Summit Legacy

DinoDoc · February 2, 2003, 18:58

Quote:

SEOUL, South Korea -- Government auditors released evidence Thursday supporting allegations that a handsome bribe was paid to secure North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's acquiescence to a landmark summit in Pyongyang with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

The revelation in what has come to be known as the cash-for-summit scandal threatened to undermine the legacy of South Korea's Kim, who won a Nobel Peace Prize after the June 2000 summit, and to set back relations between the North and South.

"If it is exposed that the historic summit was bought and paid for, that would be a very serious matter for Koreans and for the world," said Lee Bu Young, an assemblyman with South Korea's conservative opposition party, which is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate further.

In the report released Thursday, the government board of audit and inspection confirmed the long-standing allegation that nearly $200 million of a corporate loan from a government-run bank was unaccounted for and most likely had gone to North Korea. The secret loan was made eight days before the summit to Hyundai Merchant Marine, a subsidiary of the giant Hyundai Group, which has worked closely with South Korea's Kim on various reconciliation projects.

Hyundai and the South Korean president have denied the allegation of a bribe.

The board said it did not have evidence that a crime was committed but that it would refer its findings to prosecutors if requested. Earlier this week, prosecutors barred 15 businesspeople and government figures involved in the case from leaving the country for the duration of the probe.

South Korea's Kim released a candid statement in which he called for an end to the criminal probe for the sake of peace. "If the money was spent on promoting South- North economic cooperation, for the sake of the national interest it is not desirable to make it a subject of judicial inquiry," he said.

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jan/01312...on_w/24975.asp

How serious of a matter would this be for South Korea if the accusation is proven? Kim Dae-jung's call to end the criminal probe does seem to lend credence to the possibility.

Timexwatch · February 2, 2003, 19:13

I don't know how the average Korean would react, but this just goes to show the North's continued blackmail of the south and Kim Jong Il's lack of sincerity in negotiating with the South...

Hopefully, if true, the youngins in the South will wake up and realize that the North is not a genuine partner for peace...

Winston · February 2, 2003, 19:14

Amazing.

If true, this may be the costliest collect call ever made so to speak.

And to a petrified stalinist no less.

DinoDoc · February 2, 2003, 20:27

More info: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asi...169716,00.html

DinoDoc · February 4, 2003, 18:21

Bump

Dauphin · March 11, 2003, 15:44

http://www.dailytelegraph.co.uk/news...1/ixworld.html

Quote:

North Korea says bribe was 'brotherly love' for Seoul
By Richard Spencer in Beijing
(Filed: 11/03/2003)

A secret £320 million payment to bring about a summit between the two Korean nations was not a bribe, but an "expression of brotherly love", said the North yesterday in its first comment on the scandal in the South's capital Seoul.

Revelations of the payments by a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai have led to calls for the former president, Kim Dae-jung, to hand back the Nobel peace prize he was awarded after the summit, and even to be prosecuted.

A vote by the National Assembly to order a special inquiry into the payments overshadowed the assumption of power two weeks ago by Mr Kim's successor, Roh Moo-hyun, who supports the so-called Sunshine policy of détente with the North.

The North issued a statement saying: "Hyundai's co-operation deserves the nation's appreciation. This should be regarded as our expression of brotherly love which cannot be purchased with any amount of money." The money, of which £120 million was paid immediately preceding the summit in 2000, won Hyundai exclusive rights to negotiate business deals with the North, including running tourist trips to Mount Kumgang, just north of the border, and an industrial park in the city of Kaesong.

The statement appears to be an attempt to persuade President Roh to veto the inquiry, which his supporters have said will damage further attempts to improve relations.

The Sunshine policy rests on the principle that the key to long-term peace is a calming of the North's traditional paranoia by business ties, transport links and reunions of families separated by the country's 50-year division. The statement also focused on a key theme from Pyongyang - that the obstacle to reunification is not its policies, but American aggression. "The US should admit its despicable crime and stop inciting North-South confrontation at once," it said.

The North says the crisis over its alleged nuclear weapons programme is trumped up by America as a pretext to attack once it has concluded any war with Iraq.

It has issued low-grade military warnings to America and the South, hoping to force the US to a negotiated settlement. Yesterday it carried out its second test-firing of a short-range land-to-sea missile in two weeks.

Arrian · March 11, 2003, 15:48

This is the part that I find utterly amazing:

Quote:

South Korea's Kim released a candid statement in which he called for an end to the criminal probe for the sake of peace. "If the money was spent on promoting South- North economic cooperation, for the sake of the national interest it is not desirable to make it a subject of judicial inquiry

Can you imagine a politician trying that here in the US? He'd be tarred & feathered! Nothing makes a journalist salivate like the words "government coverup."

-Arrian

DinoDoc · March 11, 2003, 17:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrian
Can you imagine a politician trying that here in the US? He'd be tarred & feathered!

The movement to appoint a special prosecutor would begin before he even finished the interview.

Arrian · March 11, 2003, 17:15

Quote:

"Hyundai's co-operation deserves the nation's appreciation. This should be regarded as our expression of brotherly love which cannot be purchased with any amount of money."

By the way, isn't this just fantastic stuff? This bit is great too:

Quote:

The statement also focused on a key theme from Pyongyang - that the obstacle to reunification is not its policies, but American aggression. "The US should admit its despicable crime and stop inciting North-South confrontation at once," it said.

-Arrian

DinoDoc · March 11, 2003, 17:36

What's sad is that Roh would more likely than not stop the criminal inquiry in its tracks anyway without the DPRK making an ass of themselves?

Arrian · March 11, 2003, 17:43

Agreed. But it was still nice to see the DPRK make an ass of themselves

Besides, that statement might actually make things harder on Roh.

-Arrian

DinoDoc · March 11, 2003, 17:46

I doubt it but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Q Classic · March 11, 2003, 18:45

NK Official Tied to Summit Scandal Purged
good to see kji cracking down on corruption

.

of course, in skorea, they're dealing with it slightly differently. still just talking.

they have, however, passed a bill setting up the independent counsel. so the one above is mainly just to kinda figure out where to bound the investigation.

this is, of course, a bit after the ex-president kim had killed the investigation. the question now is how hard it'll hit roh's presidency.

he's not going to have a honeymoon; then again, kim dae jung didn't have one either, being elected in the midst of the financial crisis. kim young sam is probably the only korean president that ever had a honeymoon, now that i think about it.

my bets are that roh's early credibility will suffer, even if he does manage to distance himself from the deal--it was, after all, his party leadership that orchestrated the deal.