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Agence France-Presse

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was formerly indicted for corruption on Monday, becoming the latest of the country’s ex-leaders to face criminal charges.
The CEO-turned-president who served from 2008-13 has been charged with bribery, power abuse, embezzlement, and tax evasion, state prosecutors said in a statement.
It came just days after Lee’s successor as president, Park Geun-hye, was jailed for 24 years for corruption.
“We will thoroughly retrieve the criminal proceeds that were accumulated by Lee through illegal means,” prosecutor Han Dong-hoon told reporters.
Lee was detained late last month but has since refused to be interrogated by prosecutors.
He has denied any wrongdoing and has denounced the investigation as a “political revenge”.
If convicted of all the allegations, the septuagenarian Lee could be jailed for life, Yonhap news agency reported. His trial is expected to begin next month, according to Yonhap.
South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison after their time in power – usually once their political rivals have moved into the presidential Blue House.
All four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have now been charged or convicted for criminal offences.
We will thoroughly retrieve the criminal proceeds that were accumulated by Lee through illegal means
Han Dong-hoon, prosecutor
Conservative Lee’s successor Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined millions of dollars last week for bribery and abuse of power.
She was ousted last year over a nationwide corruption scandal that prompted massive street protests.
Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, former army generals who served as president through the 1980s to early 1990s, served jail terms for corruption and treason after leaving office. Both Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after serving about two years.
Another former leader, Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide after becoming embroiled in a corruption probe.
Lee has been accused of accepting a total 11 billion won (US$10.2 million) in bribes between late 2007 when he was elected president and 2012, according to prosecutors’ documents.
These allegations include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion.
Both Samsung and Lee have denied the allegations as groundless.
The 11 billion won in bribes also include 1.7 billion won of secret funds from the country’s spy agency Lee allegedly pocketed, and 3.5 billion won Lee reportedly accepted from five different people, including a Buddhist monk, in return for policy favours.
Separately, prosecutors claim Lee embezzled 35 billion won over 12 years between 1994 and 2006.
Lee has dismissed what prosecutors say are “incriminating” documents and testimony from his relatives and aides as “fabrications”.


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South Korea

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak indicted for corruption and could be jailed for life if convicted of all charges

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on his way to a detention centre. Photo: AP

Ex-South Korean president Lee Myung-bak arrested ‘for taking US$10.2 million in bribes while in office’

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak gets in a car as he is transferred to a detention centre from his residence in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Supporters of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye hold her portraits during a rally to call for her release in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. Prosecutors on Tuesday have demanded a 30-year prison term for Park for alleged bribery, abuse of power and other crimes in a landmark corruption case that marked a stunning fall from grace for the country's first female leader and former conservative icon. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

(180227) -- SEOUL, Feb. 27, 2018 (Xinhua) -- File photo taken on May 23, 2017 shows South Korea's former President Park Geun-hye (front) arriving for a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors on Feb. 27, 2018 demanded 30-year imprisonment for the ousted President Park Geun-hye, according to local media reports. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho) (djj)

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, center, arrives at a detention center in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 23, 2018. South Korea's former conservative Lee was arrested and jailed on Friday over a range of corruption allegations that made him the latest in a series of disgraced leaders embroiled in scandals and other problems after leaving office. (Han Jong-chan/Yonhap via AP)

epa06615191 A protester displays placards outside the home of South Korean former President Lee Myung-bak in southern Seoul, South Korea, 20 March 2018, demanding punishment of the former leader. The prosecution a day earlier requested an arrest warrant for Lee on 12 counts of corruption charges. The court is scheduled to deliberate on the warrant request on 22 March, which Lee said through his secretary that he will not attend. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

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All four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have now been charged or convicted for criminal offences


Corruption in Asia