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Prosecutors on Tuesday sought to raid the old office and living quarters of the ex-chief presidential secretary for national policy Byeon Yang-kyoon, who resigned Monday over a scandal involving his relationship with the woman at the heart of a bogus degree scandal. Byeon, prosecutors say, exchanged hundreds of amorous e-mails with erstwhile star curator Shin Jeong-ah, whose career he is suspected of furthering and protecting despite the fact that her Yale doctorate was bogus. The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office wants to take custody of the computer in Byeon¡¯s old office, convinced that it will produce more decisive evidence in the scandal.
"We feel that this case will spark rapid repercussions both qualitatively and quantitatively,¡± a prosecutor said. By ¡°qualitatively¡±, he meant on the intimate nature of Byeon¡¯s relationship with Shin, and by ¡°quantitatively¡± he was suggesting there were others involved, possibly in high places.
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Reporters wait in front of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on Tuesday.
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Another prosecutor said among the many people who sent e-mails to Shin ¡°are a plural number of politicians and government officials who deserve special attention. In light of the context and content of the e-mails, these people presumably gave some kind of help to Shin, rather than maintaining an inappropriate relationship as Byeon did." In 2003 when Shin was a curator at the Sungkok Art Museum, Shin received donations for exhibitions from several enterprises and banks and allegedly boasted of her close relationship with a senior official at the Ministry of Planning and Budget.
A Sungkok Art Museum official said Shin in the second half of 2003 announced she would like to plan an exhibition based on sponsors' donations ¡°with the help of a bureau chief at the Ministry of Planning and Budget whom I know well.¡± Byeon was vice minister and minister of planning and budget from 2003 until 2006. And the museum official recalled Shin saying on a couple of later occasions, ¡°I'm going to meet the bureau chief at the Ministry of Planning and Budget to discuss sponsorship.¡±
The Chosun Ilbo has discovered that the Sungkok Art Museum was inundated with corporate donations after 2003, when Shin planned the exhibition. Since Shin took the curatorial job, about 10 corporations sponsored the museum's exhibitions. Among them, Daewoo Engineering and Construction sponsored a total of six -- two events each in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Korea Development Bank sponsored three exhibitions -- two in 2006 and one in 2007.
Prosecutors have started checking details, the museum received a W12 million (US$1=W936) Korean Culture and Arts Promotion fund, a state subsidy. The question before them is whether Byeon peddled his influence, considering that the KCAP fund was given to the museum in 2003, immediately after Byeon was appointed as vice minister.
While tracking Shin¡¯s bank accounts, prosecutors are also looking at suspicions that the abbots of several Buddhist temples sent money to the disgraced curator. Prosecutors want to know whether Byeon used his influence in related ministries to wangle subsidies for temples packaged as funds for preservation and restoration of cultural properties. The money came from state coffers, and part of it allegedly went to Shin as a reward.
Prosecutors will question any monks and Buddhist figures who sent money to Shin. They have been granted a warrant to track and analyze Byeon¡¯s phone records to establish whether he pressured officials at Dongguk University and Gwangju Biennale Foundation to appoint Shin as an assistant professor and chief curator. However, a court rejected a request for a warrant to raid Byeon¡¯s home and temporary residence, sparking concerns that the investigation could flounder unless prosecutors are given access to Byeon¡¯s computer.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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