Closer inspections of Pres. Lee’s relatives, confidants begin

The presidential office has allegedly begun to investigate President Lee Myung-bak’s relatives and confidants in the wake of the scandal surrounding government inspector Eun Jin-soo, who worked for Lee in the 2007 presidential race.

Experts warned that things will spin out of control if another influence-peddling scandal is erupted by one of the president`s confidants. A presidential office source said, “We have no choice but to raise our alert level by two to three notches (to prevent a recurrence).”

The presidential secretariat for civil affairs in charge of managing President Lee’s relatives has apparently stepped up “on-site monitoring.” The presidential office had managed his confidants differently by dividing them into three or four groups such as relatives, alumni, those attending the same church the president attends, and former Hyundai Group colleagues. The number of those being monitored is a reported 1,000.

Another presidential official said, “With help not only from the Board of Audit and Inspection and the Prime Minister’s Office but also from law enforcement agencies, we will conduct on-site inspections of those close to President Lee over whom they meet, what kinds of business they do, and what money transactions they make.”

“In the past, we did such inspections by phone on a quarterly basis but will now meet them in person on a monthly basis."

The presidential secretariat for discipline of public officials is also strengthening monitoring of former and incumbent politicians who had worked at the presidential transition committee; the ruling Grand National Party’s camp in the 2007 presidential election; Ahnkook Forum, a group of those loyal to Lee during the presidential race; and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Public officials from Yeongil and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province are subject to closer inspections though they have no direct relations with Lee.

A ruling party source said, “Though there is no such group such as Yeongpo Line (a group of people from Yeongil and Pohang), if one of them is involved in a corruption scandal, there will be no way to avoid public suspicion (over influence-peddling.)”

Critics, however, say thorough monitoring of President Lee`s confidants is impossible as the presidential office has fewer than 30 inspectors.

The presidential office, however, said the inspection drive will not include ordinary public officials. An official at the presidential secretariat for civil affairs said, “With President Lee’s term entering its fourth year, we seek to focus on preventing corruption by the president’s relatives and confidants, and the president’s trust in public officials remains firm.”

Despite this, government watchdogs such as the Board of Audit and Inspection, the National Tax Service and the Fair Trade Commission will bear the brunt of the inspections.

On the corruption allegation against Eun, President Lee said, “Irregularities by government agencies that inspect and supervise others` tasks should not be tolerated.”

srkim@donga.com