Lawmaker grilled in illicit hiring probe

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- The prosecution on Friday questioned a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party over allegations that he has peddled influence in the recruitment process for a state-run casino operator.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office summoned Yeom Dong-yeol, the party's two-term lawmaker, as a suspect as part of its accelerating probe into the allegedly unfair hiring of new workers at Kangwon Land Inc.

"I have been making comprehensive efforts to help children of workers at closed mines in Gangwon Province get jobs (at the casino)," he said in response to a reporter's question about whether he admits to the charges.

"I have tried to help the young people fare well through a program to admit them as trainees," he added.

A local civic group has filed a complaint with the prosecution against the lawmaker, claiming that he has exerted "inappropriate" pressure on the casino operator to hire the children of his acquaintances.

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