[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "It is absurd that the Korea Communications Agency played a catalyst role in the Optimus investment scandal. (Kim Young-sik, People Power Party lawmaker)" "A special prosecutor must be introduced. (Hwang Bo-seung-hee, People Power Party lawmaker)"
The comprehensive audit of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held on the 22nd focused heavily on the Optimus fund scandal, mainly led by the opposition party from the start. They repeatedly demanded the attendance of Choi Nam-yong, former head of the Fund Management Division at the Communications Agency, who submitted a letter of absence, and even raised the necessity of a special prosecutor.
Park Sung-joong, the People Power Party's secretary of the Science and ICT Committee, criticized from the outset regarding Choi Nam-yong's absence at the national audit, saying, "A witness who is still employed with a salary in the hundreds of millions at an affiliated agency is blatantly ignoring the National Assembly." He pointed out, "Choi Nam-yong is the main culprit of the Optimus scandal that caused damage to about 1,000 people and 500 billion KRW. If he had not made the investment decision, this situation would not have occurred today. To uncover the truth of the investment, the person who made the initial decision must come forward."
Choi, the former head, was selected as a witness for the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT and its affiliated agencies on the day, but submitted a letter of absence the day before stating, "I am under investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office regarding the Optimus fund investment case and therefore cannot attend."
Hwang Bo-seung-hee, People Power Party lawmaker, said, "Public institution investments can greatly influence private investors, so they must be more cautious. The amount exceeds 100 billion KRW, and among that, 67 billion KRW was invested in insolvent companies," adding, "It is necessary to have multiple layers of safeguards, including attaching opinions from numerous external experts, approval by the agency head, and thorough review by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which provides the funding source." This is a critique of the ineffectiveness of the Korea Communications Agency's announced measures to prevent recurrence, such as requiring the director's approval for investments exceeding 100 billion KRW.
Hwang, who labeled this incident a power-type corruption gate, stated, "More than 1,000 people suffered damages totaling over 500 billion KRW," and insisted, "A special prosecutor must be introduced to clarify the facts." In response, Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "We will cooperate sincerely." Regarding criticism that the Ministry of Science and ICT, as the fund-allocating department, cannot be free from responsibility for this incident, he said, "There seems to have been some past misconduct." When asked whether Jeong Han-geun, president of the Korea Communications Agency, had received any handover from former president Seo Seok-jin or recent contacts from the National Assembly or Blue House, he replied, "I have not received anything special."
Park Dae-chul, People Power Party lawmaker, criticized the Korea Communications Agency, a public institution, for leading the Optimus investment and sending wrong signals to individual investors. He pointed out, "Among the initial 13 investments, the Korea Communications Agency made 7 investments totaling 57 billion KRW, accounting for 94.5% by amount," and added, "The Korea Communications Agency, which caused the tears of ordinary people, should not rejoice just because it recovered its principal."
In particular, Park raised suspicions of concealment of investment scale, saying, "On the 13th, the Korea Communications Agency stated in submitted materials that it invested 67 billion KRW in 6 cases, but after reports emerged that a total of 13 cases involved 106 billion KRW investments, they submitted materials two days later again stating the 106 billion KRW investment." Jeong Hee-yong, also a People Power Party lawmaker, referred to the same materials and claimed, "The number of investments and the period do not match at all. The director submitted false materials and gave false testimony at the audit."
President Jeong Han-geun responded, "It is difficult to know the investment details in asset management in detail. We received daily reports to check where the investments were made, but it was later confirmed that false materials were submitted, which led us to request a prosecution investigation on that part."
Heo Eun-ah, People Power Party lawmaker, criticized the complacent attitude of the related agencies regarding the Optimus scandal. She said, "It pains me to see the minister's complacent attitude, saying the Ministry of Science and ICT will conduct a high-intensity audit for three months and then let it pass," adding, "How can you say that when the people's assets have turned into worthless scraps of paper?" Minister Choi Ki-young responded, "We will review and conduct an internal audit if necessary."
On the day, Minister Choi Ki-young responded to opposition lawmakers' criticism that the Korea Communications Agency became a catalyst for the public fund fraud, saying, "It is hard to accept that. It seems that the person in charge at the Korea Communications Agency made a mistake. The Korea Communications Agency, together with the Ministry of Science and ICT, reviewed the matter and even requested a prosecution investigation, so I hope you consider that." Regarding criticism that punishments for those involved were too lenient, he emphasized again, "Considering the situation at the time, the punishments were not lenient. We found out there was a problem through reports and audits, and after recognizing the issue, we requested a prosecution investigation."
The Korea Communications Agency invested a total of 106 billion KRW in 13 rounds from June 2017 to March 2018 in the fund that was the predecessor of Optimus Asset Management. Notably, 67 billion KRW of the total investment flowed into currently problematic insolvent companies. Choi, the former head who was selected as a witness on the day, was confirmed to have maintained a close relationship with the Optimus management, even traveling abroad with the management and their families at the time when investments in the Optimus fund began during his tenure as head of the Fund Management Division, raising suspicions of collusion. Choi received a reprimand in September 2018 related to approving the 67 billion KRW fund investment.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
