The former chief of the country's top steelmaker POSCO appeared before prosecutors Thursday to face questioning over alleged corruption.
  

Chung Joon-yang showed up at the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul at 10:00 a.m. to undergo an interrogation as a suspect in the snowballing case.
  

"I am sorry for causing worry to the people who cherish POSCO, people concerned with the firm, and family members," Chung told reporters.
  

For the past six months, the prosecution has been investigating suspicious deals and alleged slush funds created while Chung headed the firm from 2009 to 2014.
  

In particular, it is looking into a deal in 2010, in which POSCO bought a stake in local plant equipment maker Sungjin Geotec Co. for nearly 160 billion won ($141 million).
  

Jeon Jung-do, head of mid-sized manufacturer Sehwa MP and the biggest shareholder of Sungjin Geotec, allegedly profited substantially from the stake purchase, the prosecutors said. Chung and Jeon are known to be friends.
  

The prosecution office said it will grill Chung on whether he had directly instructed the stake deal.
  

Also, engineering firm Dongyang Construction is suspected of creating slush funds for POSCO and its affiliates while winning bids for about 10 overseas projects placed by POSCO since 2009, according to the prosecutors.
  

The chairman of Kosteel Co., which buys steel slabs from POSCO to make wire rods, is suspected of helping the global steel giant evade taxes by doctoring transaction records. The Kosteel chairman is also known to be a close friend of Chung.
  

Prosecutors said the questioning is likely to continue until late into the night and there is a high possibility that Chung will be summoned again for further investigation. (Yonhap)