Former S. Korean President summoned over bribery allegations

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South Korean prosecutors summoned former President Lee Myung-bak to appear for questioning on March 14 over allegations of bribery and corruption, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

"We need to investigate former president Lee to find the truth (in the scandal) in a transparent and effective manner," Yonhap quoted an unnamed Seoul prosecutor as saying.

Prosecutors have been investigating multiple allegations that Lee received bribes amounting to millions of dollars from politicians and businessmen while in office. They have questioned officials and Lee’s family members and raided their houses, including a swoop last week to the home of his son-in-law who is a senior executive at Samsung Electronics.

Lee was told to present himself to prosecutors on Wednesday next week to be questioned as a "suspect", Yonhap said.

The 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 and given a suspended jail sentence.

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak attends the 21st ASEAN and East Asia summits in Phnom Penh, November 19, 2012. /Reuters Photo

Samsung reportedly paid six billion won (5.6 million US dollars) in legal fees to a US law firm on the former president's behalf.

Both Samsung and Lee have denied the allegations as groundless.

Lee has dismissed the investigation into him as "political revenge".

"I feel saddened that the country is being shaken to its foundation by recent attempts to roll back history," he said in a statement in January.

South Korea's current left-leaning President Moon Jae-in has vowed to "fix past wrongs" in the country's governance, calling them "accumulated evils".

Lee, who was in office from 2009-2013, would be the fourth president of South Korea to be questioned by investigators following detained ex-leader Park Geun-hye.

His successor Park was ousted last year over a massive corruption scandal that emerged in 2016. The verdict in her trial on charges of bribery and abuse of power is due next month, with prosecutors demanding 30 years in jail.

(With input from news agencies.)

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