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Ex-president Lee Myung-bak during his first public trial in May, 2017 (joint photo pool)
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Lee Myung-bak charged with taking bribes from chairman in cash and suits
Kim Hee-jung, the senior personal secretary to former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and one of Lee’s most trusted subordinates, has reportedly confirmed the contents of a memorandum kept by Lee Pal-sung, former Woori Financial Group Chairman, during questioning by the prosecutors. Kim also testified that Lee Pal-sung had a tailor visit the office of Lee Myung-bak during his term as mayor of Seoul to take his measurements for a suit.
During a Aug. 10 hearing in Lee Myung-bak’s trial, which is being heard by Hon. Jeong Gye-seon, with the Seoul Central District Court’s 27th criminal division, the prosecutors released a report of the statement that Kim made during questioning.
“Since Lee Pal-sung, who was then head of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, was holding one-on-one meetings and briefings with Lee, who was then mayor of Seoul, I thought he was a capable man. Despite being the head of the Seoul Philharmonic, we knew he was finding ways to work toward [Lee Myung-bak’s] victory in the primaries and the main election without drawing attention to himself,” Kim said. Lee Myung-bak is charged with taking bribes from Lee Pal-sung consisting of 2.25 billion won (US$1.99 million) in cash and suits worth 12.3 million won (US$10,895).
When the prosecutors asked whether the two people had ever met privately, Kim said that Lee Pal-sung had had suits made for Lee Myung-bak: “One day I got a call from Lee Pal-sung who abruptly asked when would be a good time to measure the mayor for a suit, so I set up an appointment. The way he talked suggested that he had already agreed to have Lee Myung-bak fitted for a suit.”
Bribes in the form of suit “fittings”
On the day that Kim Hee-jung had chosen, Kim recalled, an employee from a high-end tailor’s showed up at the mayor’s office to take Lee Myung-bak’s measurements. “I was told at the time that this was a famous and upscale tailor’s shop. I heard that the president’s son-in-law, the attorney Lee Sang-ju, had the same tailor’s make more suits for Lee Myung-bak at his residence at the Blue House during his presidency,” Kim said.
This is consistent with Lee Pal-sung’s memorandum, which refers to a “fitting” on Jan. 11, 2008, and a “suit delivery” on Jan. 23, 2008. During his questioning by the police, Lee Pal-sung also admitted having suits made for Lee Myung-bak. “After having the son-in-law fitted, too, we headed to the safe house in the Samcheong neighborhood on Jan. 23, 2008. I told Lee Myung-bak’s wife that I would cover the cost. Since one suit costs about 2 million won [US$1,771], I guess it would have come to 12 million won [US$10,620],” he said.
In addition to this, Kim acknowledged several times that the contents of Lee Pal-sung’s memorandum were factually accurate. When asked about an entry in the memorandum on Feb. 21, 2008 that mentions a meal with Kim and 2 million won, Kim said, “This appears to be a record of the handover of 2 million won over a meal. I recall that he had wanted to meet with Lee Myung-bak [while he was president-elect] and had asked me to arrange an appointment for him.”
On Feb. 23, 2008, two days before Lee Myung-bak’s inauguration, the memorandum records a meeting with Lee at his office in the Tongui neighborhood and notes that Lee Pal-sung waited for two hours in the reception room. “The Tongui neighborhood was the location of Lee Myung-bak’s office while he was president-elect, and it’s true that I had a conversation with Lee Pal-sung while he was waiting for quite a long time,” Kim said.
Kim told the prosecutors that Lee Pal-sung and the president-elect “discussed the positions of chair of the Financial Services Commission, president of the Korea Development Bank and a lawmaker in the National Assembly. The president-elect didn’t consider that strange.” Lee Pal-sung wrote in his memorandum around this time that “Everyone looks happy – am I the only left out? None of them have any loyalty.”
Lee Pal-sung provided the following explanation to the prosecutors: “During the two months before the inauguration, my acquaintances were all being appointed to public positions one after another, and the only people I could get in touch with were Lee Sang-ju and Lee Sang-deuk [Lee Myung-bak’s older brother and a member of the National Assembly]. Shortly before the inauguration, most people had already been slated for a position, and Lee Sang-ju wasn’t picking up the phone, so I got a bad feeling.”
Lee Pal-sung also said he had asked Kim Hee-jung to arrange a position for him around the time of Lee Myung-bak’s inauguration.
“Lee Pal-sung said he would like to be appointed as president of the Korea Exchange or president of the Korea Development Bank. I also heard he went above my head to ask the same thing of so-called power brokers such as Park Yeong-jun [Secretary to the President for Executive Coordination], Kim Baek-jun [Senior Officer to the President for Administrative Affairs], Lee Chun-sik [a member of the National Assembly] and Won Sei-hoon [National Intelligence Service Director],” Kim Hee-jung told the prosecutors.
By Kim Min-kyoung, staff reporter
Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
