By Yi Whan-woo

Investigators raided and searched a house owned by an aide of Rep. Lee Seok-hyun, a main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) lawmaker, Thursday, as part of their probe into a widening bribery scandal involving savings banks.

The raid came a day after Lee claimed that the government had tried to cover up its illegal surveillance of citizens.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said the aide, only identified by his last name Oh, was involved in the suspended savings banks scandal. Lee, however, claimed the investigation was a “politically-motivated move” in response to his remarks on the surveillance.

The prosecution said Oh also violated the Foreign Exchange Law with one of the banks. However, it refused to name the bank, or give details on how Oh was involved in the scandal. Several politicians have been indicted for taking large sums of money from the banks in return for peddling their influence to protect them.

Lee claimed Wednesday that presidential officials delivered 50 million won ($43,910) to Jang Jin-su, a former senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office that ordered surveillance on citizens critical of the government. Jang was indicted for his involvement in the spying case, and the DUP lawmaker claimed that Cheong Wa Dae tried to cover up the case by offering Jang the money.