A file picture on Hanjin Group head Cho Yang-ho.[Namgung Jin-woong = timeid@ajunews.com]
The head of South Korea's embattled Hanjin Group was released Monday from a grueling interrogation overnight by state prosecutors over allegations he was forced to quit against his will as chief organizer of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Hanjin Group head Cho Yang-ho was summoned Sunday and questioned by a special prosecution team which has probed a corruption scandal involving Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of President Park Geun-hye. He was sent home early Monday.
Cho resigned on May 3 as chief organizer of the 2018 Games in the eastern ski resort of Pyeongchang, citing his "urgent" corporate issues such as the restructuring of the group's shipping unit, Hanjin Shipping. But allegations surfaced this month that he quit against his will for his refusal to cooperate with Choi in placing a construction order with Swiss builder Nussli in January.
The Swiss firm allegedly had business ties with the Blue K, a shell company controlled by Choi, to win a construction deal in Pyeongchang. Former Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok is suspected of playing a role in Cho's sudden departure.
Cho, who is also the chairman of South Korea's top carrier Korean Air, took the helm of the Pyeongchang organizing committee after he played a crucial role in bringing the 2018 event to Pyeongchang in July 2011.
The tycoon was credited with speeding up the construction of Olympic facilities. Initial preparations had been hit by financial problems and construction delays, but Cho's aggressive campaign helped the committee forge a series of sponsorship agreements with major firms.
Choi, her associates, and relatives are suspected of having a far deeper influence on government affairs to gain illegal profits from state projects, fueling concerns about the delayed construction of some Olympic-related facilities and the lack of funds for the Pyeongchang organizing committee.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
