Tag: bribery

Lee Jae-myung is just surrounded by scandal. If he had won the Presidency in 2022 I wonder if these bribes would have ever been investigated?:

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) apologized Monday over snowballing allegations that cash envelopes were distributed to lawmakers and party members as bribes ahead of a 2021 national convention held to elect a new party leader.

Prosecutors are investigating suspicions that envelopes containing cash totaling 94 million won (US$71,700) were handed out to members of the then ruling DP to help then lawmaker Song Yong-gil be elected as the party chair ahead of the party convention in May 2021. 

Song eventually won the election.

“As party leader, I deeply apologize for causing people concern over this issue,” Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the DP, said during a party meeting at the National Assembly.

Prosecutors have raided the homes and offices of Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man for their alleged involvement in distributing the money collected from regional businesspeople. Youn and Lee served in Song’s campaign ahead of the national convention.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this has to make people wonder if Lee Jae-myung was handing out cash envelopes when he was elected the Democratic Party leader in 2022?

The only conviction to stick to Lee Jae-yong was sponsoring equestrian training for Choi Soon-sil’s daughter:

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was released Monday after an appellate court handed him a suspended sentence dismissing most of the key charges against him in a bribery and corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye last year.

The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee to 2 1/2 years in prison with a stay of execution for four years. He was immediately freed from a nearly yearlong incarceration.

Two former group executives were also released on suspended sentences. They were given four-year jail terms by the lower court.

Lee, 50, was arrested on Feb. 17, 2017 on five charges, including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas.

A lower court sentenced him to five years in prison, on Aug. 25, for giving 8.8 billion won (US$8.1 million) in bribes to Park and her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, in return for government backing of the merger of two key Samsung units, a process that was deemed vital to tighten Lee’s control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate. The prosecution had demanded 12 years in prison for Lee.

But the appeals court acknowledged as bribes only some 3.6 billion won which Samsung sent to Choi’s German-based firm to sponsor the equestrian training of her daughter, Chung Yoo-ra.

The court found Lee “passively” complied with Park’s request to sponsor the former dressage rider after he was apparently intimidated by Park and Choi.  [Yonhap]

Here is the strangest thing about the court ruling:

But the appeals court acknowledged as bribes only some 3.6 billion won which Samsung sent to Choi’s German-based firm to sponsor the equestrian training of her daughter, Chung Yoo-ra.

The court found Lee “passively” complied with Park’s request to sponsor the former dressage rider after he was apparently intimidated by Park and Choi.

What did former President Park tell him that was so intimidating that is what I want to know?

This is a bombshell of an accusation if true:

Prosecutors said Wednesday they will indict ousted President Park Geun-hye on additional bribery charges as early as this week over allegations that during her term Park took bribes from the state spy agency.

An official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that prosecutors are also considering “gradually pressing charges against the others involved.”

Prosecutors have been investigating allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s main spy agency, provided Park with up to 200 million won (US$188,000) in kickbacks every month between May 2013 and July 2016.

Prosecutors suspect that the NIS paid Park around 3.8 billion won in total and that she used those funds personally or to carry out illicit political activities.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if President Park was receiving that much money every month as a bribe from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) then she needs to receive jail time.  With that said I would love to see what this evidence is because the evidence of all her other supposed crimes has not been very forthcoming during this whole legal process she is going through.

I am really curious what evidence the prosecutors have against President Park that she committed bribery because I have yet to see any?:

South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye was named a bribery suspect on Tuesday as special prosecutors wrapped up their three-month probe into a massive influence-peddling scandal.

The probe team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, suspects that the president colluded with her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil and took bribes from the country’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group in return for business favors, its spokesman Lee Kyu-chul said.

President Park, currently awaiting the Constitutional Court’s decision on her impeachment, will not face charges for now as an incumbent president has immunity from criminal indictment.

State prosecutors will decide whether to continue with the investigation into Park as the deadline for the special probe team expires Tuesday.

Special prosecutors indicted Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung, on charges of giving or promising some 43.3 billion won (US$38.3 million) in bribes to the president’s jailed friend Choi in return for the government’s backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.  [Yonhap]

I would not be surprised if the prosecutors named her as a bribery suspect just to appease the mobs of protesters knowing full well they don’t have any evidence to charge her.

Considering the mountain of lawyers that Lee Jae-yong is sure to have I hope the ROK prosecutors have some indisputable evidence if they have any hope of convicting him:

Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Group’s de facto leader, was formally arrested Friday on charges of bribery in connection with a high-profile corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend.

With the Seoul Central District Court issuing the arrest warrant, Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., became the first leader of the country’s largest business group to be detained in a criminal probe.

The investigation team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, requested the writ for a second time on Tuesday — less than a month after its first request on Lee’s charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury was turned down.

In their second pursuit of the warrant, the prosecutors leveled more charges against the tycoon, including hiding criminal proceeds and violating the law on transferring assets abroad in the process of giving bribes to the president’s friend Choi Soon-sil.

“The rationale for and the necessity of (Lee’s) arrest is acknowledged considering the new charges and additional evidence collected,” the court said in a text message sent to reporters.

The court, however, rejected the request for a warrant to arrest Samsung Electronics President Park Sang-jin, saying it is difficult to recognize the need for his detention.

Following the court’s decision, Lee is to stay at a detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, where he had been waiting for the ruling.

Prosecutors have suspected that Lee gave or promised some 43 billion won (US$36.3 million) worth of bribes to Choi in exchange for the government’s backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It appears South Korean prosecutors have been able to flip Choi Soon-sil’s niece and she is testifying against her.  With Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong saying he felt pressured him to give money to Choi’s foundation and her own niece confirming the allegation, it seems the prosecutors have a very strong case against her now:

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a South Korean presidential impeachment scandal, clashed with a niece Tuesday over allegations they coerced Samsung Group into making donations to a sports foundation under their control.

Choi, her niece Chang Si-ho and former Vice Culture and Sports Minister Kim Chong were summoned to the Seoul Central District Court to testify on allegations they colluded to extort more than 1.6 billion won (US$1.35 million) in donations from the nation’s largest business group to the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center, which was established in June 2015.

Chang early on admitted that they forced the donations from Samsung and that she embezzled funds from the center. Her admission came a day after special prosecutors investigating the scandal sought an arrest warrant for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong on charges of bribery.

According to the prosecutors, Lee was involved in Samsung’s decision to give up to 43 billion won to various organizations linked to Choi in return for the Park Geun-hye administration’s backing of a merger between two companies belonging to the conglomerate in 2015.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but what I haven’t seen strong evidence of yet is how President Park Geun-hye was involved in all of this?

It will be interesting to see if the prosecutors have the evidence to prove their case because Samsung and the women behind the ROK Presidential scandal Choi Soon-sil as well as President Park Geun-hye are denying everything:

Special prosecutors on Monday requested an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Group’s de facto leader, on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury in connection with an influence-peddling scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., is accused of giving or promising to give some 43 billion won (US$36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park’s jailed friend Choi Soon-sil in return for the state-run pension fund’s backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates, the team’s spokesman Lee Kyu-chul told a regular press briefing.

Samsung signed a 22 billion won consulting contract in August 2015 with a Germany-based firm owned by the woman who is at the center of the scandal and allegedly sent the company billions of won, which was used to fund her daughter’s equestrian training, according to prosecutors. The money that was originally promised to be handed over was included in the amount deemed as bribes, Lee, the spokesman, said.

Some 20.4 billion won the group donated to two nonprofit foundations, allegedly linked to Choi, was also viewed as a kickback. It was the largest amount given by any business group to the organizations.

Prosecutors suspect Samsung supported Choi in return for the National Pension Service (NPS) approving the contested merger of two Samsung subsidiaries on July 17, 2015.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

This article makes me wonder how many “white envelopes” are being passed to teachers in South Korea? Is this just the tip of the iceberg?:

A case involving the principal and two teachers of a private girls’ high school in Gwangju was sent to prosecutors on charges of fabricating the school records of 25 students in order to help them gain admission to good colleges, police said Wednesday.

The three educators are suspected to have either raised the test scores of 12 students in the 11th grade and 13 students in the 12th grade or lied about their extracurricular activities.

Authorities did not say exactly how many students were aware of the plot, but hinted that “several” must have known because they were called into the teacher’s office and specifically asked what details the teachers could add to their documents to make them look better.

Some parents were said to have paid each teacher about 2 million won ($1,828) for the service, said police.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but I am a bit surprised by how cheap the bribe was.

The expansion of the anti-corruption law is clearly targeted at the unions and civic groups that are largely left leaning.  With that said will these anti-corruption laws just make these groups instead focus on campaign contributions like what happens in the US to influence politicians?:

Lawmakers belonging to the ruling and opposition parties are generally in favor of expanding the anti-graft law to encompass the country’s labor unions and civic groups, a poll showed Sunday.

The survey carried out on lawmakers sitting on parliament’s National Policy Committee showed 10 supporting the expansion versus five who were opposed, with four saying they did not have a view on the matter.

The poll carried out by Yonhap News Agency shows awareness among lawmakers that the law can be revised down the line to make it more comprehensive and better reflect public calls to root out graft.

The Kim Young-ran anti-graft law, named after the former Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission chief, aims to tighten loopholes in existing anti-corruption rules under which public officials cannot be punished for accepting expensive gifts and services unless there is evidence of reciprocity.

The law passed by the National Assembly in March 2015 and set to go into effect on Sept. 28 subjects public officials, journalists and private school faculty to a maximum penalty of three years in prison or a fine of five times the amount they accept in money or valuables if they exceed 1 million won (US$896) in one lump sum or 3 million won in total annually, regardless of whether it is in exchange for favors or related to their work. The regulations make it illegal to accept meals exceeding 30,000 won, presents in excess of 50,000 won, and money for congratulations and condolences of over 100,000 won, and bars people in these occupations from from making improper solicitations.

“Although it may seem excessive by some because of the considerable influence civic groups and labor unions exert on society, it only makes sense that they are covered by the law,” a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker said.

He pointed out that it makes no sense to include journalists and schoolteachers who are not public servants, while leaving out unionists and civic group members.  [Yonhap]

It will be interesting to see what the reaction to this is going to be.  It is difficult to lobby publicly against an anti-corruption law that is trying to end bribery.

The whole issue with the succession issues and now government raid of Lotte Group is playing out like a Korean television drama:

Prosecutors raided the headquarters of South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group, as well as its six affiliates, on Friday over allegations of embezzlement and malpractice.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it sent some 200 investigators to 17 places, including the group’s headquarters in central Seoul, its major affiliates and the homes of some executives.

Hotel Lotte Co., TV channel Lotte Homeshopping and its key retail unit Lotte Shopping Co. were all raided.

Prosecutors said they confiscated computer hard drives, accounting books and other documents in their asset transactions.

Travel bans have been put out for some of the company’s senior officials, according to prosecutors. Some of the executives are accused of making secret funds by exaggerating unit prices in contracts with their subcontractors.

Prosecutors also suspect the group created slush funds while making transactions between its affiliates.

“We could no longer postpone the raid as there have been tips that evidence was being destroyed,” a senior prosecutor said.

The conglomerate, which has sprawling businesses in both South Korea and Japan, has been riddled with a series of scandals from last year, including a high-profile fight between brothers for managerial control and the recent prosecutors’ probe into the group’s duty-free business unit.

Hotel Lotte Co., which has been preparing to list its shares later this month, postponed the proposed initial public offering (IPO) to next month as its senior officials have come under investigation over alleged bribery.

Prosecutors raided the hotel unit and the house of Shin Young-ja, the head of Lotte Foundation and daughter of group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, over the allegations last week.

The 74-year-old Shin and other company officials are suspected of receiving kickbacks from Jung Woon-ho, chief of the scandal-ridden cosmetics brand Nature Republic, in return for favorable space in Lotte’s duty-free shops. Both Shin and Hotel Lotte flatly denied the allegations.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if we see Mr. Shin show up in court in a wheel chair?