Ramid chairman summoned over GNP vote-buying scandal

The prosecution has summoned Ramid Group chairman Moon Byong-wook to report to its office Monday to explain whether he provided money for National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae’s cash-for-vote scheme during the Grand National Party’s 2008 leadership race.

It also summoned Park’s secretaries, Lee Bong-geon and Koh Myeong-jin, over allegations receiving bribes and distributing them.

The summons came as investigators of Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday raided the headquarters of the business group, which owns several hotels and golf clubs in Seoul and surrounding areas.

They suspect that Moon transferred hundreds of millions of won to the bank account of Cho Jeong-man, who served as Park’s top policy secretary and handled election funds during the campaign. 

Cho is suspected of having handed 20 million won ($17,400) to An Byung-yong, the chief of a district-level GNP council, who allegedly distributed the money to five local council members with instructions to bribe 30 low-ranking GNP officials. Park won the election and served as the party’s chairman until September 2009, when he became parliamentary speaker.

Prosecutors said the 20 million won may have been part of Moon’s fund. Moon has previously been questioned by prosecutors for having allegedly provided bribes to aides of former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2003.

Park, a former prosecutor, admitted to having received money from Ramid but denied the bribery allegations.

“I was paid the money in February 2008 as a fee for a case I accepted from the group. It was a legitimate fee and I have not received any financial support from Moon nor others,” he said.

Cho also denied having received any money from Moon.

“I do not know him,” he told reporters.

All eyes are now on whether Park, facing accusations from both the ruling and opposition parties and on the verge of being ousted from his position, will be summoned.

Park’s office was raided and his secretary questioned after Rep. Koh Seung-duk on Jan. 8 revealed he received an envelope with 3 million won in it from an aide of Park, which Koh returned. The main opposition Democratic United Party submitted a motion demanding Park’s resignation.

“It is only a matter of time. After all, people surrounding Park are being investigated, and Park will have to turn himself over the prosecutors’ office,” a source close to the case said.

Meanwhile, investigators said they have secured the list of 762 members of the central committee of the DUP, where a similar vote-buying scandal has erupted over the election of its leadership.

Prosecutors have studied CCTV footage at KyoYuk MunHwa HoeKwan hotel in southern Seoul where the election took place on Dec. 26. However, they have failed to identify the man who seemed to have distributed bribes to the voters.

The investigators had requested that the DUP file the list of voters, only to be denied. But they managed to obtain the document during their raid of a party official’s office for a separate case.

“We will start questioning the listed people one-by-one from this week,” a prosecutor was quoted as saying to a local daily.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)