The snowballing allegations of influence peddling by Park Bum-hoon, senior presidential secretary for education from 2011 to 2013 during the Lee Myung-bak administration, now has prosecutors planning to summon Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Chairman Park Yong-sung, who is the chairman of the board at Chung-Ang University, a university owned by Doosan Group.

In the latest revelation concerning Park Bum-hoon, who served as Chung-Ang University president from 2005-2011, Doosan Group is alleged to have paid more to acquire Chung-Ang University than the sum verbally agreed to between the then Chung-Ang University board chairman Kim Hee-soo and the late Doosan Group honorary chairman Park Yong-oh in 2007.

After the deal fizzled, Park Bum-hoon, then Chung-Ang University president, met with Park Yong-sung, then Doosan Group chairman, suggesting that the business conglomerate acquire Chung-Ang University. Another Lee Myung-bak administration figure was said to have attended the meeting.

Doosan Group eventually acquired the university for 120 billion won, 50 billion won more than the sum agreed to initially.

The deal might have been sweet for Doosan Group as Chung-Ang University was allowed to merge its Seoul and Anseong campuses in 2011. It is alleged that Park Bum-hoon pressured the Education Ministry to change the relevant laws to allow the integration. Chung-Ang University is reported to have gained tens of billions of won through the merger.

Other allegations of influence peddling by Park include Chung-Ang University’s acquisition of the Red Cross College of Nursing in 2011. The prosecutors are investigating allegations that Park pressured the Education Ministry into changing the law to allow for the university’s acquisition of the nursing college.

It is now known that Park Bum-hoon’s daughter was appointed professor at Chung-Ang University last year, that his wife has leases on two shops at a shopping mall operated by a unit of Doosan Group and that Park himself served as an outside director at Doosan Engine starting March 2014, receiving a payment of 58 million won a year.

It is detestable that a senior presidential secretary peddled influence in numerous instances, exploiting his position to gain favors on behalf of his former employer. In turn, he received favors, too. In fact, Park Bum-hoon appears to have been working for Chung-Ang University and its owner Doosan Group while he was a senior presidential secretary on a government payroll.