Former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Is Arrested On Graft Charges

The judge presiding over former president Lee Myung Bak’s case officially issued an arrest warrant around 11 p.m. KST on March 22. The arrest warrant was issued in response to the criminal charges against him and concern over potential destruction of evidence.

Following the arrest warrant, Lee Myung Bak was escorted from his home in the Nonhyeon neighborhood of Seoul to a jail. The prosecution will be able to hold the former president in custody for 20 days.

The prosecution submitted 80,000 pages as evidence for the criminal charges. The charges against Lee Myung Bak include receiving around 11 billion won (approximately $10.2 million) in bribes, embezzling 35 billion won (approximately $32.5 million), and other crimes. He is the fourth former South Korean president to be arrested and the second former president to be issued an arrest warrant following Park Geun Hye.

A source from the prosecution revealed that the 77-year-old former president will not be questioned today. The prosecution is currently preparing their plan for how they will investigate Lee Myung Bak.