BBK's Kim points finger at Park Geun-hye's aide

BBK's Kim points finger at Park Geun-hye's aide

Kim Kyung-joon By Yi Whan-woo Kim Kyung-joon, a central figure behind a high-profile stock-rigging scandal involving President Lee Myung-bak, reversed the general belief that the current opposition party orchestrated his visit to Korea in 2007 against then-presidential candidate Lee. The Korean-American instead claimed in a recorded interview on a political podcast Sunday that aides to Park Geun-hye, head of the ruling Saenuri Party’s interim leadership committee, engineered his visit during the lead-up to the presidential election back then. Kim’s comments on the “Naneun Ggomsuda” Internet radio show comes at a sensitive time when the nation is bracing for the April 11 parliamentary elections. The stock-rigging scandal involving the now-defunct BBK investment firm previously run by Kim could emerge as a significant variable affecting the outcome of the elections. Kim, who is currently serving an eight-year jail term for stock price manipulation, insisted President Lee was also involved in the crime. His sudden visit to Korea a month before the presidential vote in December 2007 was regarded as a potential blow to then-leading candidate Lee. The visit had been deemed politically motivated by the opposing presidential camp until Kim’s statement was released Sunday. Kim said he told the prosecutors that Lee Hye-hoon, a Saenuri Party member, had contacted him to come to Korea. Lee, however, denied the claim, saying “I’ve never met him nor talked to him in my life.” You Won-il, a former lawmaker close to the Korean-American attended the show to back up Kim’s claim. He cited a letter from Kim, who stated the accused told the prosecution about how he came to Korea. According to You, investigators ignored Kim and instead demanded Kim name figures from the opposing party members. The former lawmaker added that Kim’s mother told him that the opposing party members never contacted her or Kim’s family. You cited Kim as saying in January that Park Geun-hye’s aides came to the United States to see him while the presidential campaign was ongoing in Korea five years ago.