By Na Jeong-ju
A panelist of a popular online talk show ridiculing President Lee Myung-bak was put behind bars, Monday, following a controversial court ruling against him.
Chung Bong-ju, 51, a former opposition lawmaker and one of the four hosts of the podcast “I am a Ggomsu (petty trickster),” presented himself to the prosecution’s office in Seoul early afternoon. He had rejected the prosecution’s summons twice since sentenced with a one-year jail term on Friday by the Supreme Court.
The court upheld a lower court’s conviction on Chung of spreading false rumors during the 2007 presidential campaign that Lee was involved in a stock manipulation scam at BBK, an Internet financial firm.
After arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, a teary Chung, surrounded by about 1,000 supporters, criticized the Supreme Court, saying Friday’s ruling by Judge Lee Sang-hoon was not acceptable.
“The battle to discover the truth behind Lee’s financial scam has just begun. I believe the ruling will draw more public interest in the case,” Chung said. “They are trying to put a gag in my mouth, but the truth will win in the end.”
Several opposition politicians, including Democratic Unity Party lawmakers Chung Dong-young and Park Young-sun as well as No Hoi-chan, spokesman of the Unified Progressive Party, accompanied Chung to the prosecution office to show their support for him.
The former lawmaker had already registered his candidacy for the April general elections, but won’t be able to run. Under related rules, the conviction barred him from running in elections for the next 10 years.
The “BBK scandal” rocked the 2007 campaigns, prompting the National Assembly to designate an independent counsel to examine the case. President Lee was cleared of financial fraud in early 2008, shortly before he took office.
The allegation was initially raised by Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) during the primary race earlier in 2007 to choose the GNP’s presidential candidate. Lee didn’t take any legal action against her at the time.