Ex-PM Lee Wan-koo to be summoned over bribery scandal this week

May 12, 2015
South Korea's new Prime Minister nominee Lee Wan-koo offered his resignation on Monday. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea’s new Prime Minister nominee Lee Wan-koo offered his resignation on Monday. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) — Prosecutors said Tuesday they will summon former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo this week for questioning over alleged bribery.

Lee is set to appear before prosecutors at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The move comes more than two weeks after he quit his job over allegations that he took 30 million won (US$27,000) from a businessman when he was running for a parliamentary seat in 2013.

It also comes two months after he vowed to eradicate corruption in his first public statement as prime minister.

Lee’s name was written along with seven other high-profile politicians on a “bribery list” left behind by businessman Sung Wan-jong, who hanged himself last month.

The memo shows sums of money written next to the names of six out of eight politicians, indicating that they were bribed.

No sums of money were written next to Lee’s name, but Sung claimed in a newspaper interview just before he committed suicide that he gave 30 million won in cash to Lee while Lee was running for a parliamentary seat in 2013.

Lee has repeatedly denied the accusation and said he would give up his life if there is any evidence that he received the money.

3 Comments

  1. jammy

    November 5, 2017 at 1:07 AM

  2. jammy

    November 5, 2017 at 1:08 AM

  3. jammy

    November 5, 2017 at 1:09 AM