By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The prosecution will summon former United Liberal Democrats (ULD) leader Kim Jong-pil next week, to find out whether he received 1.5 billion won in illegal funds from Samsung Group during the provincial elections in 2002.

``We found evidence that Kim took the money in the form of bonds from Samsung. We’ll call him in next week to confirm if the allegations are true,’’ Moon Hyo-nam, a senior prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office, said on Friday.

He claimed that the money was part of 70 billion won in bonds the group purchased on the money market over the past years in order to stash away slush funds.

Prosecutors already imposed a travel ban on Kim while asking him to appear before the prosecution on May 6.

They plan to question Kim on whether he accepted the illegal money and if so where it was spent.

``We’ll make a careful review of the case and decide whether to take legal action against Kim if the money he received is illegal funds,’’ Prosecutor General Song Kwang-soo told reporters.

The prosecution will also investigate allegations that former construction and transportation minister Kim Yong-chae gave Kim Jong-pil 600 million won which he received from Hyundai Engineering and Construction in 2000 while serving as head of the Korea Land Corporation.

Even though the allegations are confirmed, Kim may not face the charges related to Hyundai’s slush funds as the statute of limitations already expired.

Kim Yong-chae was sentenced to five years in jail for accepting the money from Hyundai. He appealed to a higher court, claiming that he delivered the 600 million won to the ULD leader.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr