TONGSUN PARK, IN SEOUL TESTIMONY, LINKED K.C.I.A. TIE TO PRIVATE GAIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R000600170036-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 21, 2004
• Sequence Number: 36
• Publication Date: March 1, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2004/06/15 : CIA-RDP81 M00980R000600170036-9 ~jLZIv
ARTICLE APP ARED
ON PAGE f
T .1 n b ,I > 9 1 A ^ : ,.'.., right out and said `I want you to be
THE NEW YORK TIMES
1 March 1978
? Mr nfi
. Park cormed that he next intro-
duced Mr. Hanna to General Kim. Of Mr..
?'? gsur~ 'ar in Seoul Testimony,
Hanna he said "I don't think he came
AML w -are New Tort Ttmes and he began payments to Mi. Hanna.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28-Tongsun Park QHe obtained d k , A curve of the transcri tr bear out li=
eaz
an ept.his rice agents. y p
testified under oath.in'Seoul'that his only assignment with the aid of three directors er estimates that Mr. Park's payments
reason 'for cultivating. the. friendship of of, the K.C.I.A. He once asked one of to American representatives and senators
three consecutive. directors of the Korean them to place $2 million to $3 million totaled about three quarters of a million
Central dA dollars between 1970 and 1975:.
g gency wah to fend in 'a bank as security for' a`loan, but, Despite the fact :.,.hat Mr.. Park has
off his business enemies, and keep a denied knowing that the money might; denied being an espionage agent of the
lucrativ
n
ee agens- assignment, accord-
ing to transcripts of his test'kriony.
Whether-Mr: Park. made payments to
; present and. formee members ,of.Congress
as a ,private businessman or M
. a_secret
,agent of :; the Republic --o -South1,Korea
is.expected?.to .be:*. keys?point of.inquiryP.
as ; the :interrogation; of 'the"- former rice
dealer continues before the House ethics
committee. ` '
The. committee,: formally called .the
House Committee : o'n ?Standards of -Offi-
cial Conduct, began- questioning. Mr.. Park
today in a:closely guarded hearing'room
in the Sam Rayburn Building here, a few
hundred.,,feet-. from. the . offices.. of Con.
gressmen he once called his friends.
- The scope of the case. will. be much
broader if House investigators are suc-
cessful: in' establishing: that Mr. Park was
a secret agent of the Korean Government,
and not ,merely a'.private businessman
attempting. to get favored treatment. - ~,'I._
From the:begiming..of the inquiry,
possibiisty that foreign, agents might hav'
been.ab:e to manipulate-Amencan legisla.
y. Lion, . foreign policy or even:' war powers
has caused deep concern inCongess . Re-
cent campaign finance reform,.: for.: in
stance;. foFpids-a"memberof Congress,.to-
accept .campaign: oorrttabutions from for-
eign individuals or governments
"In' 17 days of .interogation by Depait-
ment of Justice officials last. month.. Mr.-
Park. .steadfastly. maintained., that.:his.-ac
tions were those of a private business-
man. The., transcripts of that ? questioning
are part of - more, than : 2,100 pages of.
material- made - available: to :the- Senate
and :House ethics, - committees ' to conduc
their inquiry,,
A review of portions of the transscripts
:indicated that Mr. Park made these paints:
have come . from, , Korean'. Government
funds. He acknowledged that he . had re-
ceived orders from K.C.I.A.;'offi:cials, in=
eluding' a -document'code=nanted "ice'
mountain,. hicli.;was_a list of Americans
;tQ: attemptto-'influence.
9He described ' in' detail lift relationship
with former Representatives Otto E. Pass.
man, Democrat of Louisiana; Richard T.
Hanna;'-Democrat of California;; Cornelius
E. Gallaghe?,, Democrat of' New; ,Jersey,
William E. Minshall, -Republican of Ohio,
I helpful to Tongsun,' but he more or less;
leftthe impression ,that 'it would be nice, I
Kim's successors. He said at one point
that he was not a friend to K.C.I.A.
chiefs, "but I merely wanted to have
them understand that. whatever they {
might hear from otehr people, the un-
friendly remarks or outright material for-
character assassination against me
should be balanced by knowing my side.
of the story.Y'
Wanted 'a Personal Favor'
At-another point, Mn" Park said, he
asked General Kim to put.42.snillion to
$3 million in a foreign bank to act as
collateral so that Mr. Park. could get a
Louisiana and unraveled the secret codes, loan. "I asked him to do me a personal
and notations on payments from ,a ledger favor," he said, but it "never material-
and diary, seized by Government agents. ized."
to a longer list of political figures, rang
-
from the -late Senator Hubert H. Hum-
phrey, Democrat of Minnesota,to. Repre
sentative John B. Breaux,.-Democrat: o
political intrigue of the rice-.exporting
Gen.. Kim Young Wook, then chief of the
K.C.I.A., and asked him to' intercede on
his behalf with -.the. office -of Supply of
'
the -Republic
of Korea, or '.OSROK. "I
could' have told 'General Kim, 'If you
know - somebody-.at'.OSROK, `would you
put in good words to them. on my. behalf?'
That. as the gist of. the conversation."
Mt; Park. said General Kim told him,
'.:We're. all from the same hometown-
meaning country, meaning -South Korea
your brother,:and=I'll be delighted to do
Sang Kuen,'' another K C.I.A. official,
brought by hand a. list of United States
representatives--and -senators: that was
code-named "ice mountain"' and included
people the K.C.I.A. hoped to influence,
but added that he he did not carry out
this obejctive. '
? He persistently called' K.C.LA. officials
his "friends," but said,they were not -his
employers. '.
At another. point. Mr. Park acknowl-
edged that Steven Ki, a K.C.LA: station
chief in Mexico, visited hiin in Washing-
ton and.-they met with.?,mernbers'of Con-..
gress
- Despite the K.C.LA influence, h 1t. Park
acknowledged that he'lost'the:"rice acs
count for pait-of 1971.; It was at' this
time, he said, that Mr. Edwards intro
duced him to Mr. Passman; in Hong Kong..
`Copies' Equaled $1,000
Mr.Park testified that he trade regular
cash payments to Mr. Passman from 1972
until 1975. He- said he'sometimes noted
these in.a.small Korean-made ledger-book
where. the word "copies" equaled $1,000.
The' Justice ::Department obtained the
ledger 'and a diary' that Mr:. Park had
kept.
He delivered- most- of the mcney''t0'Mr: i
Passman in person, Mr.? Park said, includ
. ing handing it - over, to- the- Congressman,
Approved For Release 2004/06/15 : CIA-RDP81 M00980R000600170036-9
 in Mr. Passman's office on
Capitol Hill. , ment that prohibited Justice Departmerid
but in his "own mind," Mr,'Park said,
"even though he's using grandiose terms
like 'contributions,' I felt that he's asked
for some compensation for what he did
for me."
He said that Mr. Passman helped' him
arrange his rice deals and "he enhanced
my position. as a [rice] agent."
Mr. Park called all other payments,
with the exception of a number to Mr.
Hanna "contributions," although he said
he did not know whether the recipients
construed them as such. . ... ....
Close Friends With Hanna
He also said that he and Mr. Hanna
were "business partners" as well as close
friends from 1962 until.1975.. "He was
very. much, like my own': brother,`; Mr.
Park said at one point; referring to Mr.
Hanna.
. ?? Asa business partner, Mr. Park said;
Mr. Hanna received money that "was a
compensatory measure. for time spent on
our business venture." .- ?
Mr. Park testified .that he- also had
business dealings with Mr. Gallagher. ;
. Among the ? actions several Congress-
men took on his behalf was.the writing
of letters to Korean officials .to enhance
his position. He said people wrote out
of "conviction" for, him because they.al
ready knew Korean officials ? or were
grateful to the Korean Government, or
because "I frankly went to, friends and
said 'for the sake of Korea or.the United
States, and also for the sake of our
friendship, or to have control of a certain
.business situation, I want you to write
letters." Mr. Park.testified that the..."principle
source", of the money. he dispensed ..was
from, rice sales commissions and : that,.
in some instances, it was ? brought into
the United States from the. Bahamas and
Switzerland. An examination-of his. testimony indi-_
cated that there were relatively *few in-
stances of contributions that had not
been publicized.
Government.
But the House inquiry has no such
boundaries. Representative Bruce- F.
Caputo, Republican of Westchester, who
attended today's session, said the scope
of the interrogtion by Leon Jaworski, spe-
cial counsel to .the House ethics commit-
tee, was already far wider than what
`he heard as a Congressional observer to
the Seoul interrogation. i
"There is no limit on what we can,
ask him," Mr. Caputo said. He refused;
to discuss the content of today's hearing
or the material received from the Govern-
ment.
Payment to Humphrey in 1972
Mr. Park testified. that his contributiot
`-ranged from a paymentto Senator" Hurries
phrey,,'through an: intermediary in 1972,
:;ta such: lesser ? "known.-Congressmen as
Mr: Breauzs~who-took Mi "Edwards's seat
after Mr. Edwards became Govern-of of
Louisiana. 7 ..;. " soli -:~