The suspicions about the Hanwha group's 2002 acquisition of the Korea Life Insurance are turning out to have been fact. The prosecution says that when Hanwha was deemed unqualified to acquire Korea Life for lack of an insurance company, it extended the Australian company Macquarie Life cash to have it participate in a consortium for the purpose of acquiring Korea Life. What it did was engage in a little trickery to get the qualifications to buy the Korean insurance company. Hanwha is being accused of trying to bribe then Deputy Prime Minister of Finance and Economy Jeon Yun Cheol to make things happen. This news confirms the fact that the process through which the second largest life insurance company in Korea was in no way an above board deal. The prosecution must clear up all of the suspicions about irregularities in Hanwha's acquisition of Korea Lie.
There were many problems with Hanwha's takeover of Korea Life. For starters, it went against the larger principle of economic reform in the area of separating industrial capital from financial capital. Furthermore, Hanwha did not have the right qualifications, and there were claims it was engaging in illegal means to convince elected officials and high-ranking bureaucrats during the process. Indeed, at the time, Hanwha was caught falsifying its account books so as to lower its debt to equity ratio. Now it is being accused of having brought in a foreign life insurance company to act the part of supporting actor so that it would qualify as a company that either was into life insurance or part of a life insurance consortium. You have to ask fundamental questions about whether or not it was qualified. The suspicions about Hanwha making bribes are not simple. There were accusations that larger bribes were given to people in Cheong Wa Dae to other politicians and bureaucrats, but nothing has been confirmed. Given how it attempted to bribe Deputy Prime Minister Lee, however, it would seem it is more than a little probable that such activity was going on with other government officials.
The prosecution has a heavy burden on its shoulders. It has to dig deep and leave nothing uncovered, laying its honor on the line. Once already it made important progress in weakening the collusion between politics and business when it uncovered a massive series of bribes were passed between politicians and businessmen at the time of the last presidential election. The prosecution needs to take the same approach and deal strictly with the Hanwha case. The eyes and ears of the people are focused on the prosecution.
The Hankyoreh, 28 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Clear Up Everything About Hanwha & Korea Life |
