Former president Lee Myung-bak continues to deny corruption allegations during questioning by prosecutors

Former president Lee Myung-bak stands before a line of photographers prior to meeting with 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)

Lee is suspected of a variety of crimes including bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion

On Mar. 14, former president Lee Myung-bak finally appeared at the prosecutors’ office for questioning. Five years after leaving office in Feb. 2013, Lee had to face the flashbulbs in front of the prosecutors’ office over allegations of accepting bribes worth more than 10 billion won (US$9.4 million), embezzling 35 billion won (US$32.9 million) and millions of dollars worth of tax evasion. During the questioning by prosecutors, Lee reportedly denied most of the charges against him, claiming to be unrelated to DAS and ignorant that his closest associates were accepting money illegally.

Those closest associates have testified that DAS belongs to Lee, and all the people who were either delivering or accepting bribes have said that Lee was behind them – yet Lee continues to project ignorance. Lee has not changed at all from the presidential election in 2007, more than a decade before, when he said that the various allegations about DAS were “flagrant lies.”

Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, located in Seoul’s Seocho neighborhood, at 9:23 am on Mar. 14. In front of the cameras, he briefly shared his feelings while reading from a prepared statement consisting of six sentences and then headed into the interrogation room. “I am devastated to stand here today. I am extremely sorry that a matter connected with me is causing the public anxiety when people’s livelihoods and the economy are in trouble and when the security environment on the Korean Peninsula is very grave,” Lee said, with his head bowed low.

“There is much that I would like to say, but I’m determined to hold my peace,” Lee continued, taking a different tack from the harsh criticism he had leveled at the prosecutors’ investigation on Jan. 17, calling it “a political attack and political retribution.”

Lee concluded by saying, “As a former president, I can only hope that this is the last time this happens in our history.” It was ambiguous whether “the last time” refers to the investigation of a former president or the “political retribution” that he claims this represents. Lee’s original statement contained the sentence “I hope that all of this will proceed fairly, regardless of the political situation,” but he skipped over this sentence in his reading.

During the questioning, Lee consistently and flatly denied the allegations against him, with the help of his lawyer, Kang Hun, former legal affairs secretary at the Blue House. “For the most part, Lee denied [the allegations], saying that he knew nothing about them, and that even if they did occur, they were carried out by low-level officials,” an official with the prosecutors said during a meeting with reporters.

Former president Lee Myung-bak leaves the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on at 6:25 in the morning on Mar. 15 after being questioned by prosecutors for almost 21 hours. (by Shin So-young, staff photographer)

Prosecutors confident in their case against Lee

But despite Lee’s denial, the prosecutors seem confident that they can prove the allegations against Lee. These allegations include more than 10 billion won in bribery - 1.75 billion (US$1.65 million) from the NIS, more than 6 billion won (US$5.64 million) from Samsung, 2.25 billion won (US$2.1 million) from former Woori Financial Group chairman Lee Pal-sung, 500 million won from the Daebo Group (US$470,000) and 400 million won (US$380,000) from former Grand National Party lawmaker Kim So-nam), more than 35 billion won of money embezzled from DAS and billions of won in tax evasion. The prosecutors believe that their case, which is backed by physical evidence and testimony, is stronger than any previous investigation.

Now that they have finished questioning Lee, the prosecutors will soon be deciding whether to apply for a detention warrant against him. After briefing Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il on the results of their investigation on Mar. 15, the team is likely to make its decision about the warrant application as early as this week. It is widely believed in the legal establishment that, considering the alleged bribery alone exceeds 10 billion won, the courts will be obliged not only to issue a detention warrant against Lee, but also to give him a severe sentence, presuming he is convicted on most of the charges.

The sentencing guidelines for bribery established by the Supreme Court’s sentencing committee state that the basic sentence for accepting a bribe of at least 500 million won is between 9 and 12 years in prison. If the nature of the crime requires aggravated punishment, the sentence can range from 11 years to life in prison. “If most of the findings of the prosecutors’ investigation are upheld in court, there are virtually no extenuating factors and plenty of aggravating factors. Lee could be sentenced to 20 years or more on the bribery counts alone,” said an attorney who previously served as a prosecutor.

Calculated from the date of his detention, a decision in Lee’s trial could take six months in the district court and four months each in the first appeal and at the Supreme Court. If the prosecutors request an arrest warrant soon and then indict Lee at the beginning of next month, the district court would make its decision around October.

The prosecutors’ interrogation of Lee concluded at 11:56 pm, 14 hours after he arrived at their office. Lee’s review of the interrogation record continued after that, and he returned home at 6:25 am, 21 hours after first appearing.

By Kim Yang-jin and Seo Young-ji, staff reporters

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