The ruling Saenuri Party launched its own investigation committee for the cash-for-nomination scandal on Thursday, as it struggled to prevent the prosecution’s probe from damaging the party’s presidential campaign.

The party’s Supreme Council formed the nine-member committee to be headed by lawyer Lee Bong-hee and joined by those recommended by the leadership as well as the presidential primary candidates.

The committee was formed as the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office accelerated its investigation by seeking the detention of Jo Gi-moon, a former PR official of the Saenuri’s Busan branch who allegedly delivered bribes from Rep. Hyun Young-hee to former lawmaker Hyun Ki-hwan in March. It is alleged that Rep. Hyun offered the money in exchange for Hyun’s support in her candidacy as a member of the party’s nomination committee. Rep. Hyun later won the parliamentary seat as the proportional candidate.

The prosecutors will first charge Jo for violating the Public Officials Election Law by accepting 5 million won from Rep. Hyun in relation to the parliamentary race, news reports said. The prosecutors were yet to find solid evidence suggesting that Jo actually delivered the money to Hyun.

The Saenuri’s team will hold its first meeting on Friday to discuss the schedule and scope of the investigation, party officials said.

The Saenuri Party faced mounting burden as the probe into the alleged payoff between its two members continued with new allegations surfacing that Rep. Hyun may have provided monetary support to other Saenuri members as well.

Supreme councilor Lee Jung-hyun, one of those cited as having received Rep. Hyun’s money, argued that the transaction was legitimate.

“The National Election Commission confirmed to me that (the funds provided to me) were legitimate and therefore not a problem,” Lee said during the morning meeting.

He explained that he found out Rep. Hyun had sent him the contribution on April 5 but that he was not aware of it until recently because they were sent under the name of a friend of Hyun’s assistant’s wife. He added he also had no chance to actually use the money as his remaining funds were returned to the national coffers after he lost in the April 11 general elections in accordance with the relevant laws.

The prosecutors, meanwhile, are planning to summon Hyun Ki-hwan on Friday and question him on his suspected acceptance of 300 million won from Rep. Hyun.

Hyun Ki-hwan had voluntarily appeared before the prosecution last Friday immediately after the scandal first broke but the prosecutors were reportedly not ready to question him at the time.

The prosecution conducted a search and seizure on two homes of Hyun Ki-hwan and Jo Gi-moon earlier this week and found a bag allegedly used to deliver the money from Jo’s home.

Contrary to Hyun Ki-hwan’s earlier argument, the prosecutors have also discovered that he and Jo briefly talked on the phone on March 15, when the money was allegedly delivered from Busan to Seoul.

The prosecutors are also looking into other allegations that Rep. Hyun provided donations or subsidies to a couple of other then-candidates of the Saenuri Party.

The campaign team of Saenuri frontrunner Park Geun-hye, meanwhile, expressed concern over the burgeoning scandal that has been overshadowing her primary campaign. The main opposition Democratic United Party has also been calling on the former chairwoman to take responsibility for the alleged wrongdoing by her party members.

“If it is true that (if) a nomination committee member did receive a large sum of money, it would be preposterous,” professor Lee Sang-don, a member of Park’s camp, said in a radio interview.

“We would have to consider whether we should be working with those facing the allegation, regardless of what is true or not, in our campaign,” Lee said.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)