Prosecutors will summon six past aides to two top governing party officials accused of accepting illegal campaign funds from a deceased businessman, authorities said Sunday.

Authorities will summon three past aides to ex-Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and three former aides to South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo from Monday. The late Sung Woan-jong had accused the two of taking bribes from him before committing suicide on April 9.

They will also summon Lee and Hong after they question the witnesses.

Prosecutors suspect that testimonies by the six witnesses could support Sung’s accusations. Sung alleged that Lee accepted 30 million won ($27,800) from him just before the April 2013 parliamentary by-elections and that Hong took 100 million won before a 2011 party primary.

The witnesses include the accountant in Lee’s campaign team during the 2013 April by-elections and a “key aide” to Hong in the 2010 Grand National Party convention, according to prosecutors. The GNP was the forerunner to the ruling Saenuri Party.

The funds were not reported to electoral officials overseeing the elections, Sung said in a phone interview with a local daily hours before police found him dead, hanging from a tree along with a note naming Lee, Hong and six more Saenuri officials as bribe-takers.

Authorities have confirmed the note was written by Sung after comparing the handwriting to the deceased businessman’s past letters and notes. Sung was the former chair of the construction firm Keangnam Enterprises and widely known as an active lobbyist in Seoul’s political circles.

Lee and Hong have continuously denied the accusations.

“(Sung’s allegations) cannot be accepted as evidence in court, as witness accounts need to be cross examined,” Hong, an ex-prosecutor, said last Wednesday.

He added that Sung could not be considered a “credible witness” as the mogul had made the accusations under stress.

Lee, who resigned as prime minister last month, said “the truth (would) prevail,” in his teary farewell speech. He will return to his post as lawmaker in the National Assembly.

But authorities expressed confidence they would be able to press charges against the two officials, with one prosecutor saying that “(prosecutors) are legal experts with investigative powers.”

Prosecutors are under much public and political pressure to produce results. Public fury has been high against the allegations as the scandal appeared to show the extent of corruption still prevalent in Korean politics.

Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmakers have also urged authorities to prosecute the governing party officials, making the case politically-charged.

By Jeong Hunny (h257@heraldcorp.com)