Ex-presidential secretary detained in graft case

A former presidential secretary was arrested Friday on suspicion of exerting influence to provide business favors to a local university.

Park Beom-hun, senior presidential secretary for education and culture under the previous Lee Myung-bak administration, is accused of pressuring the Ministry of Education into approving illegal projects proposed by Chung-Ang University, his alma mater, in Seoul between 2011 and 2012.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest writ, saying "the suspected crimes have been substantiated and the need for arrest was accepted."

Park headed the university before joining the presidential office. While in office, he allegedly helped CAU combine its campuses in Seoul and Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, even though they are further apart than the legal limit of 20 kilometers.

He is also accused of taking money from Doosan Group, the conglomerate that owns CAU. Doosan provided large donations to a foundation Park established while he was a presidential secretary.

Prosecutors said they are planning to summon Park Yong-sung, the chairman of Doosan Group, for questioning next week over his alleged involvement in the case. (Yonhap)