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| Reference Material |
| South Korean leader�s son indicted on graft charges By Soo-Jeong Lee, The Associated Press July 11, 2002, Today SEOUL, South Korea � A son of President Kim Dae Jung was indicted Wednesday on charges of evading taxes and collecting bribes from businessmen seeking his influence. Kim Hong Up, 53, is the second son of the President to be formally accused of corruption. His younger brother, Hong Gul, is currently on trial for alleged bribery. Both are in a Seoul jail. Hong Up, the second oldest of the President�s three sons, was charged with taking 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) in bribes in return for peddling influence among government officials on behalf of businessmen. He was arrested on June 21. Prosecutors also charged him with taking 2.2 billion won ($1.8 million) in cash from businesses, including such leading conglomerates as Hyundai and Samsung, and laundering the money to evade 580 million won ($497,000) in taxes. They said those payments, made after President Kim took office in early 1998, were not bribes because no favors were sought. Hong Up also received 27 million won ($22,823) from chiefs of the National Intelligence Service as �pocket money,� they said. The case is the latest in a series of corruption scandals involving high-ranking government officials and relatives of the President. Kim Hong Gul, the President�s youngest son, was arrested on May 18 on charges of peddling influence for $2.8 million in bribes. President Kim has not been implicated in any scandal, but has apologized repeatedly for his sons, who have admitted that they received money from businessmen but denied allegations of bribery. Kim�s political party lost in most of the significant races in local elections in mid-June���. |