South Korean Prosecutors Seek Arrest Of President Lee Myung-bak Due To Bribes

The South Korea Prosecutors are accusing former President Lee Myung-bak of accepting a total of £7.4 million worth of bribes from the country’s national intelligence agency and prominent businesses. Thus, they want him arrested for doing so.

According to a report by The Guardian, the former President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, was paid a total of £7.4 million worth of bribes. He is now facing several charges including embezzlement and abuse of power, and charges of graft which made him the fourth former President to face criminal charges.

Lee served the country as President from the year 2008 to 2013. He was questioned by the police for more than 21 hours in two days about the bribery and graft accusations.

“I stand here with a heavy heart,” Lee stated at the prosecutors’ office in Seoul last week, confronting a bank of television cameras. “I hope that I will be the last former president to stand here.”

Lee apologized to his fellowmen knowing that the case brought concerned to them. The former President denied the charges and called the investigation political revenge against him.

He was also accused of moving classified documents of the South Korean government to a storage owned by DAS, which is an auto-parts company. Apart from that, Lee’s wife, Kim Yoon-ok, is also believed to have accepted £660,000 in bribes from the national intelligence service.

“Each accusation he faces is a significant offence that requires formal arrest,” an official form the South Korea office told Yonhap news. “We explained the unavoidable need for his arrest, and also that there is a great risk of him destroying evidence since he has denied even basic facts related to the allegations.”

According to the publication, Lee's charges date back in 2007 during his presidential run. Apparently, reports stated that he took bribes from a Buddhist monk who sought help in setting up a university. Apart from this, he was also accused of using his Presidential capabilities in settling a case against an auto parts business that he owned and had Samsung pay for the Hyundai's legal fees.

On the other hand, the former President Lee’s office stated that he “cannot accept the charges outlaid by the state prosecutors” and he is going to “fight with full-fledged effort to get the truth out at court."

As of now, the case and investigation against the former South President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, is still ongoing.