Seoul seeks Canada's cooperation for early repatriation of fugitive

SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top prosecutor asked his Canadian peer to help repatriate a local lobbyist involved in an ever-widening savings bank scandal for investigation as early as possible, the prosecutors' office said Tuesday.
Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu made the request to Brian Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Canada, who was in Seoul to attend an annual assembly of world prosecutors, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said.
"We ask your cooperation in getting an early repatriation of Park Tae-gyu," Kim was quoted by the office as saying in a bilateral meeting with the Canadian official.
In response, Saunders expressed his intent to actively cooperate, the office said.
Park is a major lobbyist for the Busan Savings Bank with many personal links to politicians. He reportedly fled to Canada after prosecutors began looking into allegations that the bank's executives and large shareholders inflicted damages worth 7 trillion won (US$6.47 billion) to the bank through financial wrongdoing, including offering illegal loans, accounting fraud and embezzlement.
Prosecutors want to investigate the 72-year-old lobbyist over his role in the bank's attempt to secure financial investments in order to avoid business suspension.
Despite his alleged lobbying, operations of the ailing savings bank were suspended by the financial regulator in February due to feeble capital strength.
The bank illegally secured fund investment from a scholarship foundation of Samsung Group and a regional tech-oriented college, and Park is known to have arranged the deal through his networks of politicians, according to prosecutors.
pbr@yna.co.kr