May 18 Organizations Urge Legislative Action
Call for Introduction of Laws Regulating Concealment of Criminal Proceeds
The May organizations have called for legislative amendments to recover the hidden slush funds of the families of Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.
The three official organizations related to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement (the Bereaved Families Association, the Association of the Wounded, and the Meritorious Persons Association), along with the May 18 Memorial Foundation, issued a statement on the 10th, saying, "The government's lawsuit to transfer ownership of assets from 11 individuals, including Lee Soonja (Chun Doo-hwan's wife), Lee Taeksoo (Chun's former secretary), and Chun Jaeguk (Chun's eldest son), to recover Chun Doo-hwan's unpaid fines, was dismissed on the 7th." They condemned, "As a result, it has effectively legitimized the illegal assets of Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced by the Supreme Court to life imprisonment and a 220.5 billion won fine for charges including insurrection and bribery."
The organizations stated, "If our society gives up on recovery at this point, it will be condoning the schemes of the Chun Doo-hwan family and granting immunity for the descendants of criminals to enjoy undue benefits for generations." They added, "Although the Roh Tae-woo family claims to have fully paid the fine, there exists an illegal slush fund memo left by his wife Kim Oksook, amounting to 90.4 billion won. It has also been confirmed that a total of 15.2 billion won in hidden funds was laundered and illegally donated through a public interest foundation operated by his son Roh Jaeheon."
They further stated, "Both the special recovery law proposed in the 20th National Assembly and the 'Chun Doo-hwan Recovery Three Laws' pursued in the 21st National Assembly were automatically discarded due to the end of the sessions." They emphasized, "To recover illicitly accumulated assets, it is necessary to introduce legislation such as the 'Act on Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds' or an independent confiscation system."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
