Lee says he won’t forgive anyone abusing power

By Na Jeong-ju

Staff reporter

President Lee Myung-bak vowed Monday to deal sternly with any corruption cases involving his aides and relatives, saying abuses of power would not be condoned under any circumstances.

The warning came amid a public uproar over illegal surveillance by some officials of a businessman critical of the government.

"I won't forgive anyone abusing power throughout my term," Lee said during a meeting with his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae. "Some people engage in illegal activities on the pretext that they work for the government, but there's no excuse for such crimes. Any type of abuse of power will not be condoned."

Later in the day, the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that Lee In-kyu, a senior official in charge of investigating ethics-code violations by civil servants, and three lower-level officials, had engaged in illegal surveillance of the businessman who posted an anti-government video on a website in 2008.

Opposition parties, however, called this the "tip of iceberg," alleging that the presidential office was behind the surveillance activities.

Some Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers suspect the involvement of a fraternity of senior officials whose hometowns are Yeongil and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province.

The so-called Yeongpo group has close ties to President Lee, who was born in Pohang, as well as some of Lee's close aides, including Choi See-joong, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, and Park Young-joon, deputy prime minister, according to the DP lawmakers.

In a statement, the main opposition party vowed to push for an investigation by an independent counsel, "if the government tries to conceal the truth behind the scandal."

The governing Grand National Party criticized the DP for politicizing the case ahead of the July 28 by-elections, in which eight National Assembly seats are up for grabs.

"President Lee has a clear stance on this. Anyone who abused his or her power will not be forgiven," presidential spokesman Park Sun-kyoo told reporters.

In an investigative TV program last month, the victim of the illegal surveillance, named Kim Jong-ik, claimed he was investigated and threatened by the officials for posting the video critical of the government's resumption of American beef imports.