Prosecutors said on Tuesday that International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Kim Un-Yong, under investigation for alleged corruption, maintains that a secret stash of foreign currency found at his home was destined for North Korea.
Asked to explain the existence of foreign cash discovered during a raid on his home, South Korea’s senior sports leader said in a statement he had already sent money to impoverished North Korea to promote inter-Korean sports exchanges and intended to send more, the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Investigators raided Kim’s home and office last month and seized a safe and documents. Prosecutors have refused to disclose the amount of cash found, but Yonhap news agency reported earlier that $1-million was unearthed.
Kim (72) was questioned last week after prosecutors arrested a former local sports official accused of paying a bribe to the sports chief.
”Mr Kim claims in his statement that he has sent money from his private account and donations over the past few years to North Korea for its sports activity,” a senior prosecutor said on condition of anonymity.
Kim alleged that he promised North Korea $1,5-million in financial support to promote inter-Korean sports exchanges when South and North Korea marched together at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the prosecutor said.
”The IOC member said he promised to send a total of $1,5-million to North Korea and that $1,1-million has already been remitted,” he said.
”This is a unilateral allegation and we have little means to verify it. We cannot bring North Koreans here for questioning.”
Jo Myong-Kyun, an official at South Korea’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean exchanges, said Kim had never applied for permission to remit funds to North Korea. Remitting mony to North Korea is illegal without prior authorisation.
”Kim Un Young has never made an application at the Unification Ministry for permission to send foreign currency or [discussed] such inter-Korean cooperative projects,” he told Yonhap news agency.
The prosecutor confirmed Kim was being probed over ”corruption allegations”.
”Kim is under investigation over corruption and money problems, although we need more time to make a decision on whether he should be charged or not,” he said.
Last month prosecutors arrested Lee Kwang-Tae, a former Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) member who was in office from November 2000 to July 2002, for alleged corruption. Lee was indicted on Monday.
Prosecutors refused to confirm Lee’s charges, but newspapers have said Lee is suspected of providing 100-million won to Kim to help secure his KOC membership.
Kim has denied his involvement in corruption allegations.
He said in a statement on December 22 that he was innocent, denouncing local media reports which described him as ”a corrupt figure”.
Kim, who is also head of the World Taekwondo Federation, was one of several IOC members implicated in a corruption investigation surrounding the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. — Sapa-AFP