Prosecutors are investigating the elder brother of former President Roh Moo-hyun for influence peddling in winning a land development license in 2007 when Roh was in office.

According to Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office, Roh Geon-pyeong allegedly bridged a broker surnamed Lee and local worthies to help a businessman gain permission to reclaim a total of 179,000 square meters of land in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, in 2007.

Lee, then an agent for a local businessman surnamed Kim, met Roh in his house in Bongha village of the province where he was introduced to Kang, an in-law of Roh, and Chung, the brother of a Tongyeong City Council chairman.

Roh reportedly told Lee that Kang and Chung were important people and that handing over company shares to them would assure a land reclamation permit for Kim.

Kim, who established a special purpose company dedicated to the reclamation, gave 30 percent of the company shares to Kang and 10 percent to Chung. The company won the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ permit in August that year through Tongyeong City Hall. Kang sold 20 percent of his 30 percent stake in February, 2008 at 940 million won ($830,000). The investigators suspect the money may have gone to Roh as commission since Roh is believed to have accompanied Kim and Lee when they attempted to lobby the Tongyeong mayor.

The prosecution said that as the statute of limitations has expired, they have indicted Lee for violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act instead of targeting Roh directly. They are planning to investigate Roh further after the general elections to avoid charges of political influence or motivation.

Roh Geon-pyeong was imprisoned in 2008 for another influence-peddling scandal and was released in 2010 under a presidential pardon. His brother, Moo-hyun, killed himself in 2009 shortly after being summoned by the prosecutors over a bribery scandal involving his associates and family members.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)