The independent counsel investigating alleged irregularities in the purchase of land for President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home on Wednesday referred his son Si-hyung to tax authorities on suspicion of evading the gift tax.
Wrapping up its one-month investigation, the team also indicted without detention Kim In-jong, the former chief of the Presidential Security Service, and presidential security official Kim Tae-hwan on charges of misappropriation, and another security official Shim Hyeong-bo for doctoring official documents.
Lee’s family members and aides were accused of misappropriation of taxpayers’ money and breaches of the real-name system in buying a plot of land in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul.
The prosecution team cleared the president’s only son of breaking the real estate law.
But on its request, the National Tax Service is to launch investigation over whether he dodged taxes for 1.2 billion won ($1.1 million) which he claimed to have borrowed from first lady Kim Yoon-ok and his uncle Sang-eun to purchase the land for the retirement home.
Around 320 million won could be taxed on Si-hyung, which is less than the minimum amount of 500 million won for which a person who commits tax evasion can be prosecuted.
“Despite the time limit and other difficulties, the counsel believed that verifying the truth was the top priority. The team conducted a thorough investigation,” Lee Kwang-bum said before a press briefing on the day wrapping up his team’s one-month investigation into the case.
Neither President Lee nor first lady Kim Yoon-ok were charged since the president is immune from prosecution and there was no evidence against the first lady, the counsel said.
“Cheong Wa Dae highly recognizes the efforts to verify the truth. But it cannot help but express regret over some of the investigation results,” Choe Geum-nak, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said after the results were released.
The investigators claimed that presidential officials Kim In-jong and Kim Tae-hwan caused damage to the nation’s coffers by paying around 970 million won more in purchasing the 3.4 billion won worth of land for the retirement house and security facilities together with Si-hyung.
The two officials also increased the proportion of land belonging to Si-hyung without asking him to share the costs.
Another security official Shim who had made a report of market prices of the land handed in a forged report without the price information to the counsel during the investigation.
All eyes have been on the result of the special counsel’s probe into President Lee’s scrapped retirement house plan ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.
“There were limitations in the probe because of the time limit, the President’s objection to the extension of the investigation period and lack of cooperation by Cheong Wa Dae,” said Jeong Yeon-soon, spokesperson of independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, promising Ahn will set up an investigative body in charge of probing corruption of high-ranking officials.
“President Lee raised more suspicions as he avoided the investigation by rejecting the extension of the investigation period. The public will judge him and the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye in the presidential election,” spokesperson Park Gwang-on of the Democratic United Party’s presidential candidate Moon Jae-in said.
The long-standing accusation from opposition groups has prompted two prosecutorial investigations including the latest one; the first one, in October 2011, resulted in no charge against the first family and figures involved, though several presidential officials voluntarily stepped down from their posts to take responsibility for the controversy.
However, even after more than a year-long feud and investigations, some issues regarding the promissory note which Sang-eun said he gave to his nephew and the source of 6 million won which Si-hyung borrowed from his uncle still remain unresolved.
By Kim Young-won(wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
