South Korea prosecutors seek arrest warrant for ex-president Lee

In this Wednesday, March 14, 2018, file photo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrives for questioning over bribery allegations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul. (AP)

South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for ex-president Lee Myung-bak over allegations of bribery, embezzlement and other charges, officials said on Monday.

Lee, a conservative who governed from 2008 to 2013, is the latest South Korean leader to be entangled in scandals or other problems after leaving office.

Lee’s conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, was removed from office and jailed last year in a separate corruption scandal. Prosecutors last month demanded a 30-year prison term for Park, the country’s first female president.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it has asked a court to approve Lee’s arrest.

South Korean media say Seoul Central District Court will likely decide whether to issue an arrest warrant by Wednesday night at the earliest.

Political revenge

Prosecutors accuse Lee of taking a total of $10 million (11 billion won) in bribes from his own intelligence agency, business groups and a former lawmaker. Prosecutors also allege Lee used an auto parts manufacturer as a channel to establish illicit slush funds totaling $28 million (30 billion won).

Lee has called the allegations political revenge by the current government of liberal President Moon Jae-in. Lee referred to the 2009 suicide of liberal ex-president Roh Moo-hyun, who jumped to his death during a corruption investigation involving his family when Lee was president. Moon, who was Roh’s chief of staff, previously called the investigation of Roh by the Lee government politically motivated.

Almost all South Korean presidents, their family members and key associates have been either arrested or embroiled in corruption scandals and other troubles before they ended their terms or after they left office. Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, a former army general who ruled with an iron fist in the 1970-80s, was assassinated by his spy chief during a drinking party.

Lee, a former Hyundai executive who led the company’s meteoric rise and built a reputation as a man who could get things done, took office with a promise to boost the economy and take a harder line toward North Korea.

But his five-year term was dominated by rising animosity with North Korea, massive public protests against imports of US beef and an economy hit by the global financial meltdown.