Office of former President Lee's brother searched
By Lee Kyung-min
The prosecution searched the home and office of Lee Sang-deuk, the older brother of former President Lee Myung-bak, Monday, over allegations that he received hundreds of millions of won from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) while Lee was in office. Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched his home in Seongbuk and his office on Yeouido in Seoul and confiscated personal documents and computer hard disks. Prosecutors suspect Lee Sang-deuk, a former six-term lawmaker and ex-National Assembly vice speaker, used the money for election campaigning.
This is part of a widening investigation into a series of alleged wrongdoings sanctioned under the Lee administration mostly concerning abuse of the presidential office. Lee is alleged to have mobilized the military and NIS to lead an online smear campaign to help then candidate Park Geun-hye beat her liberal opponent Moon Jae-in in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election. He also allegedly used multiple government agencies to ensure the recovery of what could have been a failed investment of 14 billion won ($12 million) via DAS, a scandal-ridden auto-parts company, through which he allegedly managed a 12 billion won slush fund. The latest allegation is that he and those close to him received money from the NIS’s “special activities” fund, for which no expenditure records are required as it is given in cash.
The search followed statements from Kim Joo-sung, a close aide to the Lee brothers. Kim, a former NIS official in charge of managing agency funds, reportedly told the prosecution that he had a one-on-one debriefing with the then president in 2008 to inform him that he gave money to Kim Paik-joon, the former presidential secretary for general affairs under Lee. Kim Paik-joon and another former Cheong Wa Dae official Kim Jin-mo were arrested last week for allegedly receiving money from the NIS.
The former president appointed Kim Joo-sung, who had no related experience in intelligence gathering, to be second-in-command at the spy agency soon after he toko office. This drew much speculation that Kim was parachuted in due to his close relationship with Lee Sang-deuk. Kim, who worked for nearly 30 years at the KOLON Group, headed by Lee Sang-deuk, served as vice president there.
The investigation is likely to gain momentum following a separate statement from Kim Hee-jung. The key former aide to Lee Myung-bak for 15 years said in a recent media interview that he gave 100,000 dollars in agency funds to a former female Cheong Wa Dae official who then gave it to former first lady Kim yoon-ok. The aide said that he and Kim Paik-joon separately delivered the NIS cash, but did not say who he gave it to, only saying “Lee Myung-bak is the only person who knows the truth.”