South Korean President's Son Arrested on Corruption Charges

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, May 19, 2002

South Korean President's Son Arrested on Corruption Charges

A son of South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung was on Saturday arrested and imprisoned on corruption charges, prosecutors and eye-witnesses said.

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A son of South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung was on Saturday arrested and imprisoned on corruption charges, prosecutors and eye-witnesses said.

State-run KBS TV showed Kim Hong-Gul, the youngest of the president's three sons, being led by two prosecution officials into a passenger car and driven to the Seoul Prison after an arrest warrant was issued for him.

"I am sorry for causing troubles to many people," he said as he stopped momentarily before TV cameras and journalists waiting in the lobby of the Seoul district prosecutors' office.

Hong-Gul has been charged with receiving cash and shares worth 1.5 billion won (1.2 million dollars) in bribes from a sports betting firm.

He is expected to be put in a 3.3 square-meter (35.5 square feet) solidary confinement cell at the Seoul Prison south of city and wait for a formal trial there.

The 38-year-old third son of the president allegedly received shares of Tiger Pools International (TPI) and its affiliate in August 2000, four months before TPI won a coveted licence for the country's first legal sports betting firm.

TPI president Song Jae-Bin has been arrested on charges of embezzling 800 million won from the company and Choi Kyu-Sun, a friend of the president's son, has been charged with taking bribes in return for helping firms gain business licenses.

Hong-Gul has admitted to receiving money from TPI but flatly denied his involvement in TPI's lobbying efforts, saying Choi and Song asked no specific favors in return for the money.

Hong-Gul could technically be jailed for up to five years if found guilty of graft. And a second son of the president, Kim Hong-UP, could also be summoned soon over a separate scandal.

President Kim took office in 1998 on a pledge to fight corruption.

The summoning of his son has forced the 76-year-old president into a new political crisis as South Korea, along with Japan, prepares for the international spotlight when the World Cup finals start on May 31.

South Koreans have seen similar scandals in the past involving the previous first families.

Kim Hyun-Chul, the second son of President Kim's political rival and predecessor, Kim Young-Sam, received a two-year jail sentence in 1997 for collecting slush money from businessmen.

He served in prison for five months before being freed on bail.

The scandal that erupted around Hyun-Chul helped then opposition leader Kim Dae-Jung win the 1997 presidential election.

Prosecutors will be obliged to indict Hong-Gul within 20 days after his arrest, under the law on court procedures.

The Seoul district court is supposed to hand down its decision within six months after the indictment. In South Korea, court judges serve the function of a jury, as well as deciding on punishment.

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