Bribery Allegations

[Anchor Lead]

We begin with allegations that have surfaced that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received hundreds of thousands of dollars from former Taekwang Group Chairman Park Yeon-cha. The outgoing UN chief denied the accusation, saying it was a politically motivated charge. But the opposition bloc in South Korea is demanding an investigation. Here is more.

[Pkg]

South Korean weekly magazine Sisa Journal has reported that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received 230,000 U.S. dollars from former Taekwang Group Chairman Park Yeon-cha. The report said that Ban received 200,000 dollars in 2005 when he was serving as a foreign minister. He then allegedly received another 30-thousand dollars in 2007 as a gift after becoming UN chief. A UN spokesman immediately issued a news release to say that the accusation is completely false and groundless. A person close to the UN chief in South Korea also denied the accusation, saying that Ban has never received bribes while serving as a public official. Park Yeon-cha also denied the allegations, saying that he never handed money to the UN chief. However, the opposition camp is calling for immediate explanation and a prosecutorial investigation into the bribery allegations surrounding Ban who is cited as a promising presidential candidate at home. The ruling Saenuri Party criticized the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, which was deeply involved in the Park Yeon-cha bribery scandal, for jumping on what it calls groundless allegations against Ban. An investigation into the Park Yeon-cha scandal was brought to an end in the wake of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun. But the scandal has suddenly become a political issue again, with Ban returning to South Korea after the end of his ten-year service at the UN. Both ruling and opposition parties are on alert, as heavyweights of the Roh Moo-hyun government were involved in the Park Yeon-cha scandal.