Prosecution questions Roh in-law, plans to summon son again

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors were looking into possible direct links
between an indicted businessman and former President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday as
they continued their probe into a bribery scandal that so far has focused on
Roh's family members.
Investigators at the Supreme Prosecutors' Officer summoned Yeon Chul-ho, a
son-in-law of the former president's older brother Roh Gun-pyeong, to question
him on the US$5 million he received from businessman Park Yeon-cha.
An investigation into Park -- who allegedly handed out billions of won to
political heavyweights, including Roh's confidants and former government
officials in exchange for various favors -- shifted to the Roh family after the
former president admitted through his Web site that his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, had
accepted money from Park to repay a debt.
Prosecutors questioned Kwon on Saturday in Roh's hometown of Busan and are
expected to summon the former president later this week.
Yeon, who was already questioned once on Friday, claims that the money from the
businessman was a legitimate investment in his firm, but prosecutors suspect that
its true beneficiary was Roh.
Roh Gun-ho, the former president's son, was also questioned by prosecutors on
Sunday, a day after he hurriedly returned from the United States. According to
investigators, testimonies by Park suggest that some of the money he allegedly
gave to the Roh family may have been used as living expenses by the son who has
been studying in the U.S.
The son is also believed to have been present at a meeting between Park and Yeon
that took place in Vietnam early last year.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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