By Kim Se-jeong
The prosecution Tuesday dropped charges against former President Lee Myung-bak alleging he offered business favors while mayor of Seoul to an Australian infrastructure investment company operating subway Line No. 9.
The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said it would no longer pursue breach-of-trust charges against Lee, who was accused of inflicting losses on Seoul City by spending taxpayers’ money to plug a shortfall for the Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund (MKIF).
Lee served as mayor of the capital between 2002 and 2006.
The investigation began after a civic group, the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, filed a complaint against Lee in 2012.
The group claimed he had allowed MKIF, which was the second-largest shareholder of Line No. 9, to collect excessively high fares, as well as having the city cover losses.
MKIF added that as a result of this contract, the city has already had to cover 126.7 billion won since the opening of the line in July 2009.
However, the prosecution found the deal had not been changed unfavorably against the city, as the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice had claimed.
“Details of the contract were changed between the city government and Macquarie during negotiations. There is insufficient evidence to say Seoul City deliberately changed a decision to favor MKIF investors,” said a prosecutor.
The prosecution didn’t question the former president, saying they investigated other city officials involved in the allegations and found them not liable.
Line No. 9 was run by a consortium of 12 companies, including the MKIF, Hyundai Rotem, Shinhan Bank and POSCO ICT. Last year, Macquarie left the consortium following disputes with the city government over fare hikes.