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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Retail & Consumer

Probes into SK, Lotte, CJ to hasten

  • PUBLISHED :April 02, 2017 - 16:42
  • UPDATED :April 02, 2017 - 16:45
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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s prosecution is likely to accelerate its investigation into tycoons at SK, Lotte and CJ this week, over whether their donations to culture and sports foundations were bribes to get favors from former President Park Geun-hye, who was arrested over the weekend.

To minimize the impact on the May presidential election, the prosecution is seen moving quickly to conclude investigations of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin and CJ Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, observers said.

The three chaebol owners had donated corporate funds in 2015 to the Mir Foundation and the K-Sport Foundation, controlled by Park’s long-time confidante Choi Soon-sil, the central figure of the influence-peddling scandal that led to ousting of Park, her arrest and the arrest of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.





The key of the investigation is whether such donations were bribes.

As for SK, which has the nation’s largest telco SK Telecom as well as major refinery, construction, and chip-making units, the prosecution is investigating whether the group offered the funds to Choi’s foundations in exchange for a presidential pardon on Chey, who had been sentenced to four years in jail in 2014 for embezzlement. He was released on pardon in 2015.

The retail giant Lotte is facing allegations that its donation to the K-Sport Foundation for building the foundation’s gym in Hanam was in exchange for help in Lotte regaining its duty-free license.

CJ, the conglomerate in food and entertainment, is to be grilled over whether its 1 trillion won ($895 billion) investment in K-Culture Valley, a theme park under Park’s drive on cultural growth, was a tool to get its chief Lee Jay-hyun out of jail on a presidential pardon.

Meanwhile, the prosecution is also likely to zoom in on Woo Byung-woo, Park’s former senior secretary for civil affairs, for allegedly turning a blind eye to Choi’s meddling in state affairs and obstructing Lee Seok-su, former special inspector at Cheong Wa Dae, from probing the corruption scandal that he was involved in.

Until October, Woo was in charge of monitoring corruption and irregularities in the civil service, including presidential staff and the president’s inner circle.

Additional allegations have surfaced that Woo, the former state prosecutor, prevented Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office from thoroughly investigating whether the Korea Cost Guard did its best to rescue people during the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol in April 2014, apparently for Park’s political benefit.

Woo also faces allegations that he inspected public servants who were resistant to Blue House orders and abused his power to demote them, particularly in the Culture Ministry and the Fair Trade Commission.

By Kim Yoon-mi/The Korea Herald (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)

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