Lee's son appears before special counsel

President Lee Myung-bak's only son appeared before a special counsel on Thursday to face questioning over alleged irregularities in a land deal for his father's now-scrapped retirement home project.

The 34-year-old Lee Si-hyung entered the counsel's office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, at 10:11 a.m. in his capacity as a criminal suspect in the alleged attempt to misuse taxpayer money through the aborted land deal.

This is the first time in Korean history a child of a sitting president has been questioned by prosecutors.

"I will say everything inside. I'll give frank answers," the younger Lee told reporters before entering the independent prosecutor's office, accompanied by his lawyer and security guards.

Asked to say a word to the people, he again said, "I will frankly and sincerely respond (to the questions)."

Last year, Lee Si-hyung and the presidential security service jointly bought a plot of land in Naegok-dong on the southern edge of Seoul to build the president's retirement residence and auxiliary facilities for security personnel.

The younger Lee, however, is under suspicion of not sharing the cost evenly, with the security service paying too high a price for the site for security facilities in what opposition parties have claimed was a scheme to allow the son to profit from buying the site at a below-market price.

The special prosecution team headed by Lee Kwang-bum, a former judge, is expected to question Lee Si-hyung over dereliction of duty charges, officials said, as the son is accused of misappropriating taxpayers' money as the security had paid an extra amount of between 600 million won (US$542,000) and 800 million won.

Accusations against the younger Lee also include breaking real estate laws by using the wrong name in the real estate transaction, the officials said. The office will focus on investigating how the land was purchased under the younger Lee's name, not his father's.

Since the allegations were raised by the opposition parties, the presidential office has flatly rejected suspicions it was an illicit scheme to help the president's son profit. President Lee later scrapped the project and decided to move into his existing private house in Nonhyeon-dong in southern Seoul after leaving office next February.

In June this year, prosecutors wrapped up an inquiry into the scandal without filing charges against anyone involved, including the younger Lee, saying all suspicions in the case had been resolved.

The prosecutors said there was no evidence of malpractice in dividing the cost of the plot between the president's son and the presidential office. They also said there is no evidence that the president tried to buy land illegally in his son's name.

During the previous prosecutors' questioning through a written statement, Lee Si-hyung reportedly claimed that he took out a loan of 600 million won from the Cheong Wa Dae branch of Nonghyup Bank, using the stake his mother, first lady Kim Yoon-ok, has in Lee's Nonhyeon neighborhood residence as collateral. The younger Lee then allegedly supplemented another 600 million won from his uncle, Lee Sang-eun.

Meanwhile, Lee Sang-eun, President Lee's eldest brother, is expected to be summoned sometime this week as he returned home from a controversial overseas trip on Wednesday.

The 79-year-old chairman of automotive seat maker DAS left for China on Oct. 15, one day before the Justice Ministry banned 10 people from leaving the country. He came under public fire as he was suspected of leaving the country to evade questioning, while DAS officials claimed it was for a business trip.

Lee Sang-eun's wife, identified only by her surname Park, is also expected to be summoned for questioning on suspicion she had a part in delivering the cash, counsel officials said. She initially snubbed the summons, but said she would appear for questioning upon her husband's return from China. (Yonhap)