A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for former president Lee Myung-bak over a series of corruption charges.

About 18 counts of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement, breach of trust and tax evasion, are levied against him. He is being investigated for multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars in kickbacks from the country's intelligence agency and big companies like Samsung. The 76-year-old, who served from 2008 to 2013, is the latest of several former leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry.