Lee accused of accepting £7.4bn worth of bribes from South Korea’s national intelligence agency and prominent businesses
Prosecutors in South Korea have requested an arrest warrant for former president Lee Myung-bak on charges of graft, embezzlement and abuse of power, making him the fourth former leader to face criminal charges.
Lee, who was president from 2008 to 2013, is accused of accepting bribes worth about 11bn won (£7.4m) from South Korea’s national intelligence agency and businesses, reportedly including Samsung.
“Each accusation he faces is a significant offence that requires formal arrest,” an official from the prosecutor’s office said, according to Yonhap news . “We explained the unavoidable need for his arrest, and also that there is a great risk of him destroying evidence since he has denied even basic facts related to the allegations.”
In response Lee’s office said he “cannot accept the charges outlaid by the state prosecutors”, and he planned to “fight with full-fledged effort to get the truth out at court”.
The likely arrest comes a year after Lee’s successor, Park Geun-hye, was arrested on corruption charges following months of street protests. She became the first South Korean president to be impeached in December 2016 and prosecutors last month ask for her to be sentenced to 30 years in prison for accepting £15m in bribes.
