MB, "Was Never Involved in Samsung’s Payment of Legal Fees for DAS"

Former President Lee Myung-bak (77) has been cornered, as allegations including bribery, misfeasance, violations of the Public Official Election Act and the Act on the Management of Presidential Archives snowball and call for his explanation.

The former president is denying the various allegations, but a summons by the Prosecution Service is practically seconds away.

The office of former President Lee's secretary distributed a press release on February 18 and expressed Lee's position on the suspicion that Samsung Electronics paid for the U.S. legal fees of DAS at the request of Lee Myung-bak's Cheong Wa Dae. They stated, "It is not true. Former President Lee was never involved in the U.S. lawsuit of DAS."

They continued, "Linking this issue to the pardon of Chairman Lee Kun-hee is malicious and outrageous. At the time, Lee was on the brink of having his International Olympic Committee (IOC) membership deprived at the 122nd IOC Session, scheduled to be held in Vancouver, Canada (Feb. 2010) in the following year."

"People from all areas including senior sports members and ruling and opposition lawmakers fiercely requested the pardon of Lee, and the people also shared this view. As a result of the pardon, Lee was able to make a great contribution in hosting the PyeongChang Winter Olympics," the statement added.

According to former President Lee, he was not aware of the fact that Samsung had paid for the legal fees of DAS when he was in office. He came to know the fact through the recent press coverage.

Nevertheless, the former president is being driven deeper and deeper into a corner. His aides including Kim Baek-jun, the former head of general affairs who was referred to as former President Lee's "butler," and Lee Byung-mo, the secretary-general of the Cheonggye Foundation, known as Lee's asset manager, have been arrested, and his close acquaintances and related people are known to have confessed various allegations before the prosecutors. Experts expect former President Lee to be summoned for questioning by the Prosecution Service in early March after the PyeongChang Olympics close.

The former president's representatives seek "political consideration," but Cheong Wa Dae and key members of the ruling party have reportedly stated that they cannot influence the prosecutors' investigation based on their principle of "rule of law."

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