By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Kim Un-yong, a vice chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), recently claimed he gave a combined $1.1 million to North Korean IOC member Chang Ung until late last year to help promote inter-Korean sports exchange, the prosecution said on Tuesday.

Prosecutors quoted Kim, under investigation for embezzlement and bribery suspicions, as saying that he had offered the money to attract support from North Korea in carrying out various inter-Korean sports projects.

The prosecution, however, was doubtful about Kim’s statement, saying he might have made up the excuse to avoid charges that he smuggled out foreign currencies.

During a raid on his office and home in Seoul last month, investigators found up to $1.6 million in foreign currencies in his personal safes. Prosecutors quoted Kim as stating that he raised the money in order to fulfill a promise he made with Chang to offer him $1.5 million.

Kim has contended that giving money to North Korea was inevitable to draw the reclusive nation to the tables of sports diplomacy. Regarding this, North Korean sports officials recently sent a fax to Kim’s office in Seoul, calling on him to pay the remaining sum as soon as possible, Kim’s aides said.

Prosecutors said they remain cautious about Kim’s contention, which mirrors a high-profile scandal where the Kim Dae-jung government masterminded a huge payout of $500 million to Pyongyang in 2000 to help enable the inter-Korean summit that year. In the friendly mood created since, the North sent delegations to the Asian Games in Pusan in 2002 and the Universiade in Taegu last year.

Some conservative newspapers yesterday carried articles on the prosecution’s comments, indicating the participation of North Korean delegation to the South Korean-hosted athletic events was bought with Kim’s money. Prosecutors however said the money appears to have been delivered personally.

Chang, who is serving as the chairman of the International Taekwondo Federation, established by North Korea, was invited to the Universiade in August and met with Kim. They agreed to make efforts to hold a joint march during the opening ceremony at the Athens Olympics next year.

Kim, who currently chairs the World Taekwondo Federation which he founded in 1973, is under scrutiny for embezzling funds at the federation and other sports organizations.

Prosecutors said they would call in Kim, also a lawmaker from the opposition Millennium Democratic Party, as early as next week after the National Assembly ends its current session.

Kim, the most well-known figure representing South Korean sports, had been lauded for his efforts to spread taekwondo, the Korean traditional martial art, throughout the world, but has been recently besieged by accusations of bribery and misappropriation. One of his sons had been under probe by United States federal investigators until recently for his attempt to illegally attain permanent residence in the country.

Kim became the center of media attention early last year after he was alleged to have lobbied against the country’s bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics for his personal ambition. He was elected the vice chairman of the IOC following a vote that chose Vancouver as the host of the Olympics.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr