Presidential secretary offers to resign over graft allegations

SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- A presidential secretary on Friday offered to resign over allegations that he awarded public projects worth millions to his private firm while serving as a senior official at the Seoul city government.

The resignation offer by Jun Hyo-kwan, a presidential secretary for cultural affairs, came amid the allegations, raised by an opposition lawmaker, that his private company received a total of 12 orders worth 5.1 billion won (US$4.5 million) from the Seoul city government from 2014-2018. During the period, Jun was serving as the director general at the municipal government's innovation bureau.

"What Secretary Jun intends is that he is going to resign to deal with (the allegations) as a private citizen, without putting any burden on (President Moon Jae-in's) administration," Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said.

She, however, said a related inspection by the presidential office found no evidence or testimonies backing the allegations. Jun also denied the allegations.

The spokesperson said the case will be referred to the investigative authorities for further investigation.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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