December 18, 1995
Web posted at: 12:00 p.m. EST (1700 GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Disgraced former president Roh Tae-Woo admitted in court Monday that he accepted huge sums of money from South Korean businessmen, but he denied they were bribes. "I thought this was the practice," he said.
Roh, who led South Korea to democracy and ruled from 1988 to
1993, is charged with taking $369 million in kickbacks from
some of the nation's business leaders. On the first day of
his trial, Roh admitted he destroyed records of his slush
fund, said to be worth $650 million, after a lawmaker exposed
it in October.
Fourteen others are co-defendants in the trial. Roh and Lee Hwun-Woo, Roh's former bodyguard, are the only ones in custody. They appeared in court wearing their white prison uniforms.
Lee Kun-Hee, who heads South Korea's biggest conglomerate, Samsung, is
accused of giving $32 million to Roh. Asked if the
allegation is true, Lee Kun-Hee said, "Yes, but it was a natural
thing to do." Thirty-five conglomerates are accused of
bribing Roh in exchange for government contracts. But the
ex-president denied awarding favors to his contributors. "As
a recipient, I did not think like that," he said.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse as the
capital became transfixed by the trial. Tickets for court
spectators were being scalped for as much as $300. About 500
people surrounded a huge television screen in Seoul's main
train station to hear Roh's confession.
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