S. Korea’s Chun Faces Bribery Charges

Former South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan, already under arrest for a 1979 mutiny, will be indicted today along with several former associates on additional charges of bribery, prosecutors said.

In recent days prosecutors have said they believe that Chun accumulated a slush fund of about $650 million during his 1980-88 term in office. Various reports have placed the amount he still retains in money and real estate at $130 million to $250 million.

The announcement of Chun’s imminent indictment for bribery was made by Lee Jong Chan, head of a special prosecution team. In addition to gathering evidence of corruption, the team is looking into a 1979 mutiny during which Chun, then a general, took control of the army and is investigating a bloody crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in the southwestern city of Kwangju in May 1980.

Additional indictments on sedition charges are expected later this month against Chun and various former military officers who played roles in the Kwangju crackdown, which left at least 240 dead and possibly, some Kwangju residents say, as many as 1,000.

Investigators have spent more than two weeks in Kwangju for an on-site investigation into the events of May 1980, taking testimony from participants and witnesses to the pro-democracy uprising and its suppression. They announced Thursday that they have identified several suspected mass burial sites for victims of the massacre, and that excavations of those sites may begin as early as this weekend.

Many details of the expected indictments were widely leaked to reporters Thursday.

Those to be charged with Chun, according to South Korean media reports, include two former close aides who were arrested Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribes on Chun’s behalf: Ahn Hyun Tae, former chief bodyguard for Chun, and Sung Yong Uk, former chief tax administrator.

Also expected to face indictment today are: former National Assembly member Lee Won Jo and former Chun economic aide Sakong Il. Former intelligence chief Ahn Moo Hyuk, currently a member of the National Assembly from the ruling New Korea Party, will also be indicted. These men are expected to remain free during their trial.

Prosecutors said that out of the approximately $650 million Chun is suspected of having amassed while in office, they have traced about $460 million, the Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper reported. Of this sum, about $200 million was confirmed to have flowed legally into foundations or to other legitimate recipients, while the remaining $260 million of the money so far traced is believed to have been bribes, said Joong Ang Ilbo.