By Lee Kyung-min
A key aide to former President Lee Myung-bak was indicted, Sunday, for managing his slush fund and personal assets under borrowed names, further troubling the former President amid an intensified prosecution investigation into a wide range of alleged wrongdoings involving him, his family and close aides. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Cheonggye Foundation Secretary General Lee Byeong-mo was indicted on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust and destruction of evidence.
The indictment could influence a decision by Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il who will determine whether to question Lee, following an official debriefing wrapping up a months-long investigation into him. The district office head Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to conduct the debriefing as early as today, seeking approval to summon Lee for questioning as well as directions for the ongoing investigation. Lee is anticipated to appear before the district office as early as mid-March, if Mun so directs, a decision widely expected given the volume of evidence connected to a series of allegations, including bribery amounting to 10 billion won ($ 9.7 million). Mun’s predecessor Kim Soo-nam approved of summoning former President Park Geun-hye after giving her a seven-day notice.
Prosecutors suspect Lee received 1.7 billion won in bribes from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) through many of his key aides, whom recently confessed to their roles in delivering the money. Lee is also suspected of having received 2.2 billion won from former Woori Financial CEO Lee Pal-sung in return for helping him assume the post by exerting undue influence on the financial institution where the government was the largest shareholder. This allegation was substantiated after prosecutors questioned Lee Myung-bak’s son-in-law, Samsung Electronics senior executive Lee Sang-joo who admitted to delivering 800 million won to Lee Sang-deuk, an elder brother of the former President, after he received it from a close aide to Lee Pal-sung. The son-in-law is also suspected of having received an additional 1.4 billion won from Lee Pal-sung, a claim he denies.
Prosecutors said Samsung Group is believed to have paid 2 billion won in addition to $3.7 million (4.5 billion won) as a retainer to a U.S. firm, Akin Gump, of which Samsung was a major client, following the questioning of former Samsung Card Vice President Choi Do-seok. Choi managed the firm’s financial issues alongside former Samsung Group Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo who confessed the firm under his leadership paid legal fees that helped Lee Myung-bak recover 14 billion won in what could have been a failed investment, in return for a presidential pardon for group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
The investigation into DAS, a corruption-ridden car parts manufacturer through which Lee Myung-bak managed tens of billions in a slush fund, has picked up speed, as Lee Byeong-mo confessed that Lee owned land in Dogok, southern Seoul, under a borrowed name. The aide said the land sale proceeds were funneled into DAS, substantiating the prosecution’s supposition that he was the owner of the firm, a claim he flatly denied in the lead up to the 2007 Presidential election.
A controversy concerning DAS nearly cost him his election as it was among the few entities that recovered its initial investment in full during his term unlike 5,500 investors who lost 100 billion won in a stock price manipulation scandal in 2001. Lee is suspected of having abused the presidential office by mobilizing government agencies including the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Prosecutors said Lee Myung-bak lent 12.3 billion won _ interest-free _ in DAS and affiliates funds to a company owned by his son, Si-hyung, which could constitute embezzlement and breach of trust. Lee Myung-bak is also suspected of receiving hundreds of millions of won from Daebo Group in return for helping the firm land construction work.