Seoul, Nov 07: Prosecutors said today they had raided the offices of IBM Korea in a probe into allegations the subsidiary of the us technology giant paid bribes to government officials. The raids took place Monday and Tuesday, a Seoul District Prosecutor's office spokesman told reporters. "No charges have been filed," he said.
The Joongang Daily newspaper said IBM Korea is alleged to have illegally lobbied officials for exclusive sales rights with the government.
IBM, which opened its operations here in 1967, is one of the most successful multinationals doing business in South Korea. It was named the most widely admired foreign firm in South Korea in a survey last year.
Its joint venture LG IBM sells personal computers and a subsidiary, Winsol, sells IBM servers.
"We have indications that IBM gave cash to LG IBM and Winsol so that they could bribe government officials," the Joongang Daily quoted a prosecutor as saying.
IBM Korea declined to discuss the allegations. "We are cooperating with the investigation," IBM-Korea spokesman Lee Yong-Shik told reporters.
Bureau Report