Prosecution Questions Former Seoul Mayor
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The prosecution Tuesday sent questionnaires to Lee Myung-bak, a leading presidential contender of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), and his spokesman Park Hyeong-joon, as part of its investigation into the leak of Lee's private information.
The action came amid defamation suits filed by the GNP and five pro-government Uri Party lawmakers over suspicions surrounding Lee and his family's residences and land transactions.
In June, the Uri lawmakers claimed that Lee's family members made fraudulent resident registrations to hide their wealth in the 1980s, citing resident registration documents and land trading records of Lee and his family members.
The GNP requested the prosecution to investigate the lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, claiming they illegally obtained the classified records to smear the former Seoul mayor. Kim then filed a lawsuit against Lee and Park alleging defamation and false accusations.
``We sent the questionnaire to Lee this morning regarding Kim's suit. After examining the answers, we'll decide whether to summon him or not,'' a prosecutor said.
He said prosecutors do not directly investigate the fraudulent resident registration suspicion, but the issue was included as the suit was instigated from Kim's claims.
The prosecution also received answers to written questions from several other lawmakers from the GNP and the Uri Party in related suits.
With regard to the allegation that Lee secretly accumulated wealth by purchasing land under the names of his brother Lee Sang-eun and brother-in-law Kim Jae-jung, the prosecutor said they are planning to summon the brother for questioning soon.
Lee Sang-eun and Kim purchased land in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul, in 1985 and reaped huge profits by reselling it to POSCO in 1995. Former POSCO Chairman Kim Mahn-je said he had been made aware that Lee was the real owner of the land.
Prosecutors are considering questioning the brother-in-law again and summoning the former chairman Kim.
In the meantime, the prosecution sought arrest warrants for two leaders of ``World of Hope 21,'' a mountaineering club consisting of supporters of Lee, on charges of pre-electioneering and organizing private groups for electioneering.