5-year jail term sought for Roh`s brother for alleged influence peddling

SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- State prosecutors on Monday sought a five-year jail
term for a brother of former President Roh Moo-hyun for allegedly peddling
influence in the buyout of an ailing brokerage by a state-run firm in 2006.
The prosecution also sought a 690-million-won (US$513,000) fine for Roh
Gun-pyeong, Roh's older brother.
Roh Gun-pyeong was indicted last December for accepting 3 billion won in bribes
in exchange for his influence in arranging the acquisition of Sejong Securities
by state-run National Agricultural Cooperation Federation, better known as
Nonghyup.
Nonghyup bought Sejong at below the market price of 110 billion won in January 2006.
The former president himself is due for prosecution summons later this week in a
separate graft case. Investigators suspect he received bribes from Park Yeon-cha,
the head of shoemaker Taekwang Industry.
Park is also entangled in Roh Gun-pyeong's case, as he was reportedly informed of
the takeover beforehand and bought Sejong shares en masse half a year before the
takeover was sealed.
Roh's brother, Park and Chung Dae-kun, Nonghyup's chief at that time, are all
hometown acquaintances, and investigators suspect they created the takeover
scenario for mutual benefit.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)