The 30 Billion Won Memo That Backfired: The 'Slush Fund' Summoned by Divorce

[Anchor]

Regarding suspicions that former President Roh Tae-woo's family concealed a slush fund, prosecutors have launched their first compulsory investigation, raiding the home of his wife, Kim Ok-sook. Suspicions buried for nearly 30 years have resurfaced in the process of the divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the details.

[Reporter]

Investigators emerge carrying blue boxes and load them into a van.

[(What kind of materials did you secure today?) ………]

Prosecutors have conducted their first search and seizure to uncover the so-called "Roh Tae-woo slush fund" allegations.

The warrant specifies violations of the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The targets of the search and seizure included the residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul, where Roh's wife Kim Ok-sook resides, the East Asia Cultural Center chaired by their son, Roh Jae-heon, the South Korean ambassador to China, as well as the homes of former secretaries suspected of providing accounts under false names.

This prosecution investigation was triggered by the divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi.

This is because, during the appellate trial of their divorce lawsuit in 2023, Director Roh's side submitted as evidence a memo written in the past by her mother, Kim Ok-sook, containing details about a slush fund amounting to 90.4 billion won.

Director Roh's side argued that a specific part of the memo reading "Sunkyong 30 billion won" represented a slush fund provided by former President Roh to SK Group, and since it served as the seed money for building SK Group's assets, her contribution should be recognized.

At the time, the trial court viewed the 30 billion won in question as Director Roh's contribution to the division of assets, but the Supreme Court ruled that illegal slush funds cannot be protected by law and thus do not qualify for property division.

In this process, the existence of a new Roh Tae-woo slush fund came to light, and following complaints filed by organizations such as the May 18 Memorial Foundation, the prosecution's investigation began.

Through this search and seizure, prosecutors plan to focus on securing clues regarding the authenticity of Kim Ok-sook's memo and when it was written.

Based on the analysis of the seized items, prosecutors are expected to summon Kim Ok-sook and Ambassador Roh Jae-heon to determine the source and path of the funds.

(Video Reported by Lim Woo-shik and Kim Se-kyung | Video Edited by Kim Ho-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.