Property Case Plagues Lee
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Leading presidential hopeful Lee Myung-bak faced suspicions over illicit land deals relating to himself and his family members during an in-house hearing of the Grand National Party (GNP), Thursday.
The panel shot questions on dubious property transactions, especially one concerning 1.55 million square meters of land in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province.
Prices of the land soared after the government nominated part of Okcheon as a venue for an administrative capital.
``I was able to buy the land in 1977 due to a personal favor from my boss when I worked as CEO of Hyundai Construction and Engineering,'' Lee said. ``I didn't know that the area would be included in land listed for the new capital.''
He said residents in the area wanted to sell the land to organize funding for a village hall and his boss just coordinated the deal.
He sold the property to his brother-in-law, Kim Jae-jung, in 1982 but stressed it was not aimed at real estate speculation.
He also flatly denied allegations that he speculated on land using Kim's name, saying the land did not belong to him.
``I did not dream of being a politician while serving as CEO. Why did I have to use Kim's name when buying real estate? It doesn't make sense,'' Lee said.
Early this month, the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper and the camp of party rival Park Geun-hye raised suspicions on illicit land trading by Lee and his relatives.
According to them, Kim has purchased 47 properties nationwide, including 4,000 square meters of land in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul, since the early 1980s.
Kim made nearly 26 billion won by selling the land that he co-owned with Lee's brother Lee Sang-eun to POSCO Construction in 1995, they said.
Reports said that Lee might be implicated in the land transactions. Kim could not afford to buy the properties at that time because he was heavily in debt and his house was under a seizure order, the reports said.
Rev. In Myung-jin, chairman of the GNP's ethics committee, raised the question about suspicions that Lee avoided mandatory military duty.
Lee said he could not serve because he had a diseased lung and bronchus.
``I volunteered for military service but was exempted after I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis and pulmonary tuberculosis,'' Lee said. ``I felt real regret about that, so I ensured my son served his military duty.''
He added he got his job with the Hyundai Group subsidiary despite the diseases because the company did not conduct physical check-ups when he was hired.