[Editorial] Lee’s repeated denials of wrongdoing undercut his dignity as a former president

Former president Lee Myung-bak stands before a line of photographers prior to being questioned by prosecutors at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office on Mar. 14. Lee is suspected of a number of crimes during his time in office, including receiving bribes and misuse of public funds. (Photo Pool)

On Mar. 14, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was summoned by prosecutors as a suspect in a criminal investigation. “There is much that I would like to say, but I’m determined to hold my peace. I hope this is the last time this happens in our history,” Lee said. In context, Lee meant that he does not want any more former presidents to be summoned by the prosecutors, which is an oblique way of expressing his view that the prosecutors’ investigation is political retribution. We can’t help but be disappointed that Lee is talking about political retribution when he ought to be ashamed of the various charges against him.

Lee reportedly repeated to the prosecutors his current position that the accusations about the actual ownership of DAS have nothing to do with him. He also reportedly denied charges about embezzling money from the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) special activity fund and about forcing large South Korean companies to pay DAS’s legal fees. Lee’s predicament is understandable, but his vociferous denial of the charges and his cunning use of “political retribution” as a shield undercut his dignity as a former president.

Lee appearance before the cameras outside the prosecutors’ office five years after he left the presidency was a long time coming. However, he has no one to blame for that but himself. His attitude now is no different from the far-fetched claim he made in January that “this is a political campaign aimed at annihilating the conservatives and political retribution for the death of former president Roh Moo-hyun.” This is not a time for political retribution, but for getting to the bottom of the numerous allegations that have been raised over a long period of time. Lee needs to confess before the Korean people and the judgment of history. At the very least, he should avoid the appearance of playing a cunning game while carrying on about claims of political retribution.

The remarks made by Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo before Lee’s appearance before prosecutors were just as shameful: “Was it really necessary to keep digging into the personal corruption of the president before last out of the spirit of revenge? All political issues are being cynically exploited for the June 13 local elections.” On the contrary, it is Hong who appears to be viewing everything with a cynical eye. We’ve said it before, but the prosecutors’ current investigation does not constitute political retribution. The allegations about the NIS’s special activity fund are not merely “personal corruption.”

The continuing troubles of a former president are a national misfortune. It’s quite likely that two former presidents – Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak – will both appear in criminal court at the same time. But being a former president does not provide immunity from legal consequences. All people are equal before the law. It is right for people to be punished according to the severity of their crime, regardless of political considerations. Painful as it may be, this is the path toward a better future for the nation.

　

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