The prosecution has reportedly suspended its investigation into allegations of illegal foreign currency remittance involving the daughter of President Roh Moo-hyun.
The prosecution’s decision was prompted by a strong protest from the main opposition Democratic United Party. Defining the investigation as politically motivated, the party asserted that it was intended to reopen a bribery case that led to the Roh’s tragic suicide in May 2009.
Prosecutors denied any intention of reopening the bribery case. But it accommodated the DUP’s protest and decided to put off its remittance probe after the coming general election.
The prosecution’s decision was judicious. If the investigation can wait, there is no need to generate the misunderstanding that it is seeking to meddle in the election. But when it resumes the investigation, it will have to get to the bottom of the matter, as there are reasonable suspicions of illegal currency transactions.
The president’s daughter, Roh Jung-yun, is suspected of having been involved in illegally sending 1.3 billion won ($ 1.2 million) to Kyung Yun-hee, a Korean-American lawyer in the United States, in January 2009. Kyung is the owner of an upscale apartment in New Jersey that prosecutors believe Jung-yun purchased in 2007. As such, they suspect the money was an installment of the payment for the apartment.
But the prosecution’s focus is not placed on the president’s daughter but Kyung, as the latter appears to have plotted the illegal foreign currency remittance scheme.
Prosecutors have already questioned two men who worked for Kyung. According to investigators, a Korean-American surnamed Lee received seven boxes of banknotes worth 1.3 billion won from an unidentified man in Seoul early 2009. Prosecutors still have no clue who the unidentified man was. Lee presented a photo of the cash-filled boxes to the prosecution.
Lee then delivered the money to an import car dealer in Seoul, who is suspected of having converted it into U.S. dollars and remitted to Kyung via an illegal channel. Prosecutors questioned the car dealer on Feb. 25 on suspicion of violating foreign currency regulations.
As prosecutors have halted their investigation, it is unclear whether Roh’s daughter was involved in this remittance scheme. That will be discovered if prosecutors question Kyung and other involved people.
Prosecutors might also have to find out where the 1.3 billion won came from, or they could face difficulty in indicting anyone. But if they trace the money, it could lead them to the bribery case. This possibility led the DUP to denounce the investigation as an attempt to kill the late president twice. It remains to be seen how prosecutors will proceed with the probe.
