Former President Lee under questioning
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Former President Lee Myung-bak delivers a message to the public before undergoing questioning at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Wednesday. / Joint Press Corp
Former president denies charges of bribery, power abuse
By Lee Kyung-min
Former President Lee Myung-bak, denied involvement Wednesday in a wide range of alleged wrongdoings sanctioned under his administration. Lee appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at 9:22 a.m. to undergo questioning on 20 charges including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement, breach of trust, tax evasion, and violations of the election and presidential records laws.
Lee said he was devastated, but fell short of clarifying his stance on the various allegations. “I stand here with a heavy heart. I offer my deep apology for causing concern to the people amid increasing tension surrounding the Korean Peninsula over security threats, as well as the hardship experienced by regular people,” he said before hundreds of journalists. “I also would like to apologize to my supporters and those who continue to experience difficulties related to the investigation. As a former president, I have a lot to say, but I promised myself that I would refrain from speaking too much. I hope this (the questioning) will be the last in the country’s history.”
Bribery in the amount of 11 billion won ($10.5 million) is the gravest charge Lee faces, a claim he flatly denied. Taking 100 million won or over in bribes is punishable by a minimum prison term of ten years. The Supreme Court sentencing guidelines stipulate that a minimum of an 11-year sentence be imposed on those who received 500 million won or more.
Lee is suspected of receiving around 1.75 billion in bribes from the National Intelligence Service through his closest aides many of whom have recently confessed to their roles in delivering the money to him. He 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 that the government was the largest shareholder at the time. 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 of 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 suspect Samsung Group is believed to have paid about $5 million (6 billion won) as a retainer to U.S. law 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. This was in return for a presidential pardon for group Chairman Lee Kun-hee in 2009.
Prosecutors also questioned Lee Myung-bak about DAS, a car parts manufacturer through which he allegedly managed at least a 30 billion won slush fund, as his close aide Lee Byeong-mo who managed his personal assets confessed that Lee owned land in Dogok, southern Seoul, under a borrowed name, a claim Lee also denies. The aide said the land sale proceeds were funneled into DAS, substantiating the prosecution's supposition that the ex-president was the owner of the firm, a claim he flatly denied in the lead up to the 2007 presidential election. After taking office, Lee even said his administration was the “cleanest and most morally upright one in the history of the country.” Prosecutors also believe a computer hard disk confiscated from Lee Byeong-mo’s car could be “smoking gun” evidence proving Lee Myung-bak was the owner of DAS.
Prosecutors confiscated 40 boxes of documents in January from the basement of Yeongpo Building in Seocho, southern Seoul, in a search based on the statement of two key former presidential secretaries, who have already been indicted. The boxes with words “DAS” and “BH,” short for Blue House, the presidential office, contained documents that discussed plans to hand over DAS shares from Lee Myung-bak’s elder brother Lee Sang-eun, the ostensible owner of the company, to his son Lee Si-hyung. This, the prosecution believes, is clear evidence in proving abuse of power by the presidential office as Cheong Wa Dae would have no reason to review the strategy to do so unless Lee Myung-bak had directed it to do so.
Prosecutors said Lee Myung-bak also lent 12.3 billion won _ interest-free _ in DAS and affiliates funds to a company owned by his son, which could constitute embezzlement and breach of trust. He allegedly received 500 million won from Daebo Group, in return for helping the firm land construction work. Lee is also suspected of receiving 200 million won from the head of ABC-Sangsa, the operator of a famous bakery in Gangnam, in exchange for giving him a senior position at the Seoul office of the National Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory body that wields great influence with regional businessmen. Lee, the prosecution added, allegedly took 400 million in bribes from Kim So-nam, a former lawmaker of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, in return for fielding her in the then-upcoming general election in 2008.
The controversy concerning DAS nearly cost him the presidential election because 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. The prosecution believes Lee abused the presidential office by mobilizing government agencies including the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accomplish this.