All About Korean President! Park, Geun Hye

Park Geun-hye Paid Off to Rejoin GNP?

Grand National Party lawmaker Park Geun-hye holds press conference Wednesday, explaining the W 200 million she received after merging the parties before the presidential elections in 2002.

  Park Geun-hye, who is being talked about as a possible successor to Choe Byung-yul as head of the Grand National Party, received W300 million from then-GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang after rejoining the party, according to a broadcast by Christian Broadcasting System (CBS). Quoting a top prosecution official, CBS said Kim Young-iel, then-GNP secretary general, confessed to giving Park W300 million.

 

  High officials with the prosecution, discussing the CBS report, said the money Park received from the GNP was less then W300 million, but also said they don't believe it to be received as a payoff for rejoining the party. Prosecutors are seriously considering summoning Park.

 

  In a telephone conversation with CBS, the Rep. Park said she twice received money from Kim Young-iel after she rejoined the GNP -- W100 million during the first half of the presidential election campaign, and another W100 million in the second half of the campaign. The money was not, however, payment for her rejoining the party, she said. She said she received the money as campaign committee joint chairwoman to cover expenses entailed campaigning for Lee Hoi-chang.

 

  Rep. Hong Sa-duk, GNP floor leader, also said he knows the money Park received was for expenses encountered as she stumped for Lee across the country, and denied that the money was a payoff for her rejoining the party. CBS also reported that prosecutors are investigating suspicions that Park received a large amount of illegal campaign contributions from a certain large business conglomerate.

 

  Park left the GNP in February 2002, calling for internal reform within the party, and formed the Korea Alliance for the Future, with herself as the head, in May of that year. Right before the presidential election, however, Park and her party rejoined the GNP. She served as the campaign committee joint chairwoman during the election.

source :  The Chosun Ilbo