Detention of former S. Korean President Lee extended

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A Seoul court has extended the period of detention for former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak until early next month while an investigation into his corruption charges continues, Yonhap news agency reported citing prosecutors.

Prosecutors will now continue the investigation with Lee detained until April 10, after the court granted a request for an additional 10-day extension on his arrest warrant, which would otherwise have expired on Saturday.

Previously, Lee refused to comply with the prosecution's plan to interrogate him at a detention center.

Lee's wife Kim Yoon-ok was charged with bribery. Central District prosecutors in Seoul, however, rejected to grill her.

Kim received 350 million Korean won (0.3 million US dollars) in cash and clothes worth millions of Korean won from the country's largest bank Woori Financial Group.

What are the allegations?

The 77-year-old, who was president from 2008 until early 2013, was detained last Friday on charges ranging from bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion to abuse of power.

South Korea's former president Lee Myung-bak arrives at the prosecutors' office in Seoul on March 14, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Lee was reportedly charged with receiving tens of millions of US dollars in kickbacks from the country's intelligence agency and big companies, including Samsung Electronics.

The Samsung Group, the largest family-owned business in the country, 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.

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.

Not the first President under investigation

Lee would be the fourth president of South Korea to be questioned by investigators following detained ex-leader Park Geun-hye.

South Korean ousted leader Park Geun-hye arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, August 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

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.

Lee's own predecessor, the liberal Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff after being questioned over corruption allegations in 2009.

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