Prosecutors Summon Former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu for Investigation Over 'Split Donations' Allegations

Former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu was summoned for prosecution investigation on the 9th regarding allegations of illegal political donations to members of the National Assembly.

The Economic Crime Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jumin-cheol) called Hwang as a suspect for questioning that day. Hwang and KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, along with seven other senior KT executives, are accused of creating slush funds totaling 437.9 million KRW over four years from 2014 and illegally donating to 99 members of the 19th and 20th National Assembly sessions (violations of the Political Funds Act and embezzlement in the course of duty). They are also under investigation for raising approximately 1.1 billion KRW through 'gift certificate laundering,' where corporate funds were used to purchase gift certificates and then resold for cash.

During previous police investigations, KT was found to have mobilized 29 employees for 'split donations,' with some employees even borrowing names of family members or acquaintances. Prosecutors believe KT engaged in 'split donations' to provide amounts exceeding the individual donation limits to lawmakers.

The prosecution is accelerating related investigations, including summoning KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo for questioning on the 4th. Earlier, after receiving the case from the police in January 2019, the prosecution conducted supplementary investigations such as raiding KT’s data center, but progress stalled for a while following the Optimus Asset Management fund fraud case in June last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.