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Kim Kyung-joon, the former business partner of Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak, will be extradited to Korea later this week. Kim is the key figure in a stock-price fixing scandal centered on the venture capital firm Optional Ventures Korea and BKK. The investment firm BKK is apparently a co-investment between Kim and Lee, who has also been linked to the scandal.
Lee repeated at a press conference Sunday he would take responsibility even after he is elected president if he is found to have been involved in the stock price-fixing scheme. The Justice Ministry said a 10-member team will fly to Los Angeles early this week to bring Kim back. He will arrive in Korea by Saturday at the latest.
The Justice Ministry is completely blocking press access to Kim on the plane or at the airport to prevent any unproven claims Kim may make from leaking out, especially given that the ruling camp is keen to make political capital from suspicions that Lee was involved. The ministry will book several flights as a way to confound newshounds. It has been discussing the time, place and method of the extradition with the U.S. Justice Department since Oct. 30. As soon as Kim boards the plane heading for Korea, the Korean arrest warrant will take effect, and on arrival he will handed over to a special investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors¡¯ Office.
Lee¡¯s camp is preparing for the fallout of Kim¡¯s return. Lee was briefed about progress in the extradition by GNP Secretary General Lee Bang-ho, who leads the GNP¡¯s team dealing with the scandal, on Friday and Saturday, when the candidate himself was busy looking for ways to mend ties with former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye. Lee told his people to prepare for every scenario. A Lee aide said the camp is ¡°looking at any hypothetical attack¡± from Kim and prepared all the evidence to refute any statement Kim may make to prosecutors.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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