Park Under Pressure to Quit Chamber of Commerce Post
By Kim Sung-jin Staff Reporter Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-sung is facing a call by a civic group to resign from his post at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) issued a statement Thursday demanding Park, who allegedly diverted company funds to inflate private fortunes together with his family members, step down from the business group’s helm. Park will automatically lose the title of chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which he concurrently holds, if he steps down from the KCCI. The civic group’s call for Park’s resignation came amid signs that prosecutors are expanding its probe into allegations of corporate corruption involving the group. ``Prosecutors should thoroughly look into Doosan Group’s slush fund scandal and, if we find their criminal investigation efforts to be inadequate in uncovering the truth, we will take stronger steps, such as filing a complaint or demanding a special investigation,’’ said Rhie Sang-min, manager of the PSPD’s tax reform center. Park and 27 family members of the Doosan Group used 13.8 billion won in corporate funds to pay interest incurred on the 29.3 billion won they borrowed from financial institutions to raise funds needed to partake in two rounds of rights offerings by the construction arm in late 1999. The PSPD said that although the Doosan Group stresses that Park Yong-sung’s camp belatedly repaid the 11.5 billion won they owed to Doosan Industrial Development on Aug. 5, the repayment does not acquit them on the charges of malfeasance, embezzlement and fraudulent accounting. The revelation was made by former chairman Park Yong-oh, who was kicked out of the group by the incumbent chairman. The two Parks are brothers. ``It is premature to talk about Park’s qualifications as a representative of the KCCI because the prosecution’s investigation has just begun, and even though he is being charged, he is innocent until proven guilty,’’ said a KCCI manager on condition of anonymity. Doosan Group’s corruption scandal has already blemished Park’s international reputation, jeopardizing his re-election as chairman of the International Judo Federation (IJF). sjkim@koreatimes.co.kr |