Prosecutors question Assembly Speaker over vote buying

Prosecutors on Sunday visited the official residence of National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae for questioning over his suspected bribery of fellow lawmakers before winning the ruling party's top position in 2008.

The rare questioning comes almost seven weeks after prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Park bribed fellow lawmakers and other party members in a bid to muster votes for the 2008 chairmanship election for the then Grand National Party, now renamed the Saenuri Party.

Instead of summoning the incumbent National Assembly speaker, investigators visited his residence in Hannam-dong in central Seoul for questioning in a show of respect.

Park submitted a letter of resignation last week and is awaiting approval by the National Assembly.

The 74-year-old Park had strongly denied the vote-buying allegations, but he offered to resign from his post and apologized to the people amid rising suspicions.

Prosecutors also questioned Kim Hyo-jae, a former chief presidential aide, last week on suspicion that he was involved in distributing money to lawmakers when he was Park's election camp director. Kim resigned as a senior political affairs secretary to President Lee Myung-bak earlier this month in the face of the allegations. (Yonhap)