Another Son of Kim Is Held on Bribery Charges
A month after arresting one of the South Korean president’s sons, authorities jailed another son Friday on charges of receiving bribes from businessmen.
Kim Hong Up, the second of President Kim Dae Jung’s three sons, is caught up in the latest corruption scandal to embarrass the South Korean leader in his last months in office.
In a statement, prosecutors said the younger Kim received $1.8 million in bribes from companies in exchange for influence-peddling.
The president, who has not been implicated in any scandal, has apologized repeatedly to the nation. But his political party was defeated in most of the prominent races in local elections last week.
“For the past months, I have felt deep regrets over failing to supervise my sons’ behavior. I feel embarrassed and guilty for hurting the hearts of the people,” the grim-looking president said Friday in a nationally televised statement. “I again apologize.”
Kim Hong Up once worked as an executive of a research center that was founded by his father to promote reunification with North Korea. He did not comment while being led out of the prosecutors’ office to a car bound for jail.
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