Warrant issued to search Cheong Wa Dae
By Yi Whan-woo
A court has issued a warrant for the special counsel to search Cheong Wa Dae as a part of efforts to investigate allegations of irregularities involving President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home project.
According to sources close to the prosecution, the counsel has worked with Cheong Wa Dae officials to set the date, sometime this week, to search the office of the Presidential Security Service (PSS).
The move comes at a time when President Lee has yet to accept a request for a 15-day extension of the investigation into a land purchase for his retirement home in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, last year.
By law, the investigation can be extended only with the approval of the President. The special counsel has sought more time to look into the case as its first 30-day probe period will end Wednesday.
The scandal centers on land jointly purchased by the President’s 34-year-old son, Lee Si-hyung, and former PSS chief Kim In-jong to build a house for the President and auxiliary facilities for his security personnel.
The cost between the two was not shared evenly, with the service allegedly paying a higher price to allow Si-hyung to benefit financially.
Special Counsel Lee Kwang-bum has questioned several figures allegedly involved in the scandal. They included both the junior Lee and the President’s eldest brother, Lee Sang-eun, who said he loaned his nephew 600 million won ($542,000) to buy the land.
Investigators found that the copy of a signed contract between the uncle and nephew was made using a computer at Cheong Wa Dae. They asked the presidential office to turn over the computer file carrying the contract document, but officials have not done so, saying, “they can’t find it.”
Cheong Wa Dae also did not identify the official who allegedly answered on behalf of Si-hyung when the prosecution sent him a written questionnaire when the allegation first surfaced last year.
It will be the first time in Korean history for the presidential office to be searched for investigative purposes.