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The Foreign Affairs Investigation department of the Seoul District Public Prosecutors Office arrested on Thursday the former consul general to Hong Kong, Lee Jung-jae, 52, for illegally issuing Korean visas to 265 ethnic Korean-Chinese citizens. The Chinese nationals were ineligible for visas, and Lee received about W200 million in bribes from brokers in exchange for issuing the visas.
Prosecutors say that Lee forged the necessary documents to issue visas to ineligible ethnic Korean-Chinese nationals from March 2000 to February 2001. Lee received 1.76 million Hong Kong dollars (about W260 million) on 36 occasions from two brokers, including a broker identified as Hwang, who was issued visas on behalf of unqualified Chinese citizens.
"After investigating Lee's bank account, it was evident that Lee received about W1 million per person in exchange for the issuance of visas," an official with the prosecution said.
Prosecutors have received information that similar cases of visa scandals are occurring in public offices in Southeast and Southwest Asia, other than Hong Kong, and are investigating.
(Lee Jin-seok, island@chosun.com )
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