S. Korean court issues arrest warrant for ex-President Lee
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A South Korean court on Thursday approved an arrest warrant for ex-President Lee Myung-bak over a range of corruption allegations, making him the latest in a series of leaders embroiled in scandals and other problems after leaving office.
The decision by the Seoul Central District Court means prosecutors can immediately detain Lee for up to 20 days before formally charging him. Prosecution officials are expected to visit Lee’s Seoul residence soon to move him to a detention centre.
Prosecutors accuse Lee of taking a total of 11 billion won ($10 million) in bribes from his own intelligence agency, business groups and others. They allege he also used a private company as a channel to establish illicit slush funds totalling 35 billion won ($33 million), embezzled its official funds and evaded taxes.
Lee’s arrest comes about one year after his conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, was ousted from office and put into jail over a separate corruption scandal that touched off months of massive street protests. Prosecutors have requested a 30-year prison term for Park, and the Seoul court is to issue a ruling on her on April 6.