Senior South Korean prosecutor indicted on corruption charges

SEOUL:

South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted a fellow senior prosecutor for allegedly pocketing millions of dollars from shady stock transaction deals with an online game maker.

Jin Kyung-joon, who holds a rank of vice minister, faces charges including bribery and violating the law on financial transactions, prosecutor Lee Keumro announced in a televised news conference. Jin became the most senior prosecutor to be arrested last week.

Corruption scandals involving highprofile figures routinely take place in South Korea, one of Asia’s leading economies that became a liberal democracy in the late 1980s after decades of dictatorships.

Jin allegedly took 420 million won ($374,830) from the founder of Nexon and bought unlisted company shares before selling them back to the company at a much higher price. Prosecutors accused Lee of using the profits to purchase shares of Nexon Japan and sold them again for 12.6 billion won ($11 million) last year.

Jin also allegedly received a luxury sedan and 50 million won ($44,620) for personal travel expenses from Nexon. In a brief encounter with reporters three days before his arrest, Jin said he committed “wrong behavior” but didn’t’ elaborate. There were no fresh comments from him since he was put in a detention facility.

Prosecutors yesterday also indicted Nexon founder Kim Jungju, one of South Korea’s richest men with an estimated wealth of 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion).

Kim issued a statement yesterday saying “I lower my head and apologize.” Nexon, known for hit games like “MapleStory” and “Dungeon & Fighter,” has about 300 million users in about 150 countries, according to Nexon officials. —AP