06-02-2011 20:17         

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/06/113_88235.html

The head of a financial regulatory body was questioned Thursday over his alleged influence-peddling for a corruption-ridden savings bank.

Prosecutors summoned Kim Gwang-soo, the commissioner of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU), to interrogate him about his alleged taking of bribes in exchange for lobbying for the troubled Busan Mutual Savings Bank.

The KFIU is the anti-money laundering arm of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Kim is the first figure at the unit to have faced a summons in the corruption scandal, while officials from other financial regulation and inspection bodies have been questioned or arrested.

Presenting himself at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul, Kim told reporters, “I’ll give a full explanation to prosecutors so there will be no misunderstanding.”

The 54-year-old is suspected of having received tens of millions of won from the bank, which sought his influence on the FSC to prevent its suspension last year when he was a senior committee member of the ruling Grand National Party. Prosecutors obtained testimony about the bribery from bank officials.

Kim also allegedly eased regulations on savings banks in 2006 when working at Cheong Wa Dae and at what is now the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and helped Busan Mutual acquire Daejeon and Jeonju mutual savings banks in 2008 when he worked at the FSC.

The summons comes a day after prosecutors raided Kim’s office in Yeouido to seize related documents. They questioned him late into the night, and plan to seek an arrest warrant after confirming the allegations.

Kim is a fellow alumnus of the Busan bank’s chairman and vice chairman, who have already been arrested for embezzlement, illegal lending and other financial irregularities.

In a related investigation, the prosecution will soon summon former Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Kim Jong-chang for his alleged influence-peddling on behalf of the bank.

He allegedly visited the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) in April last year and demanded that the BAI retract its audit results that recommended punitive action against FSS officials for their poor inspection of savings banks.

It is also alleged that in February last year when the FSS and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. jointly audited banks affiliated to Busan Mutual, the former governor ordered his staff to suspend the inspection after one week.

The scandal may extend to include the Ministry of Government Legislation, as Minister Jeong Sun-tae allegedly received 10 million won from broker Yoon Yeo-seong who lobbied policymakers for the Busan bank.

Yoon told prosecutors that he gave the money to Jeong in 2007 when Jeong was a prosecutor to seek his influence in a case. The prosecution is looking into whether the bribery is related to the bank scandal.