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Former president Lee Myung-bak walks to a waiting car outside of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on the morning of Mar. 15 following his questioning by prosecutors. (by Shin So-young, staff photographer)
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“Overwhelming” evidence that Lee was the actual owner of DAS, the company at the heart of corruption allegations
While explaining Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il’s decision to request a detention warrant against former president Lee Myung-bak on Mar. 19, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office emphasized in particular that this was “a judgment based on law and principle.” Justice Minister Park Sang-ki expressed the view that it was “desirable for Lee not to be detained during the investigation and trial in light of the nation’s prestige and image overseas,” but the prosecutors explained that they had no choice but to follow the letter of the law because of “the gravity of the matter and the possibility of evidence being destroyed.” “This case is fundamentally a standard criminal investigation. According to our system of criminal law, we have placed suspects in such cases under detention during our investigation. Our principle has been to place more responsibility on the person who ultimately ordered the crime,” said a member of the team of investigators at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. There has reportedly been no disagreement among the prosecutors about requesting a warrant since Lee was summoned for questioning on Mar. 14. “It’s really hard to believe that this crime was committed by the former president of a country,” said a senior prosecutor who has been told about the details of the investigation. Given the results of the investigation, the prosecutors are confident about issuing a warrant. In particular, they believe that the majority of the bribery charges (amounting to 11 billion won; US$10.2 million) exhibit a clear quid-pro-quo nature, in which the request came first, followed by the payment and finally the favor. The bribery charges include not only the pursuit of personal interest, such as Samsung paying 6.8 billion (US$6.3 million) won in legal fees, but also more serious offenses, such as selling public offices: Lee allegedly received 400 million won (US$370,000) from former lawmaker Kim So-nam in exchange for appointment as a proportional representative. The same can be said for the appropriation of government money, including the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) special activity fund. The prosecutors expect that there will be little argument about the allegation that Lee is the actual owner of DAS during the pre-detention questioning of the suspect. They have concluded that there is “overwhelming” evidence that DAS belongs to Lee, including the testimony of Lee’s “financial custodians,” including Lee Byung-mo, executive secretary of the Cheonggye Foundation, and Lee Young-bae, CEO of Geum-gang. Blue House documents recovered from the Yeongpo Building thanks to a tip from Kim Baek-jun, former general affairs secretary at the Blue House, plainly show that government agencies, including the Blue House and the National Tax Service, were mobilized to rescue DAS. Even when allegations about the actual ownership of DAS reached a peak before the presidential election in Nov. 2007, DAS asked Samsung to pay its legal fees in the US, which the prosecutors regard as an example of severe moral callousness. Given Lee’s habit of accepting bribes, the prosecutors are also bearing in mind the possibility that more crimes will be brought to light. There was a recent report containing allegations that a company had given 100 million won (US$90,000) to Lee to congratulate him on his election. “That sounds completely plausible. It seems like the wall that Lee was hiding behind has come crashing down,” a high-ranking prosecutor said. As late as Mar. 19, Lee’s legal team continued to dismiss the investigation as “political retribution,” and they have yet to announce any specific defensive strategy that could offer a clue about how they will respond during the pre-detention suspect questioning or in the trial. “We were already expecting this, since the resources of the state, including the political prosecutors, have been fully mobilized to take down Lee Myung-bak during the ten months since Moon Jae-in became president. We will do our best to bring the truth to light in court,” Lee’s secretariat said after the prosecutors requested a warrant on Mar. 19. By Kim Yang-jin, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
