Ending `politics of the Lee brothers`

Lee Sang-deuk, a former lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party and the older brother of President Lee Myung-bak, will appear for questioning by prosecutors Tuesday. Investigators have gathered evidence suggesting that Lee Sang-deuk took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Yim Seok, the indicted president of Solomon Savings Bank. The former lawmaker is also suspected of accepting funds from Mirae Savings Bank and Kolon. Prosecutors are expected to seek an arrest warrant for the president`s brother after their investigation. Lee Sang-deuk had previously been probed in writing when involved in other scandals, but this is the first time for him to be physically summoned.

On private occasions, Lee Sang-deuk is known to have frequently said he is separate from President Lee. Yet many must have been sought his help because he is the president’s brother. Lee Sang-deuk had a critical role in getting his sibling elected to the country`s highest office. Behind Park Young-joon, allegedly the most influential person of the Lee administration, has been Lee Sang-deuk. This is why people say everything works out if Lee Sang-deuk is involved.

The Dong-A Ilbo has urged Lee Sang-deuk to give up on his candidacy for the 18th National Assembly to end “politics by the Lee brothers.” Dong-A has also demanded that President Lee break away from his brother, but to no avail. Because of this backdrop, the Yim Seok scandal was no surprise.

Corruption by relatives of the president is a chronic problem in Korea. Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were indicted for amassing huge slush funds, and many of their relatives and close aides were put behind bars. The sons of Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung were blasted for abusing power. The integrity of the late Roh Moo-hyun was also tainted by his brother Gun-pyeong’s bribe-taking. The corruption implicating Lee Sang-deuk is the culmination of the immorality of the Lee administration. Despite this, President Lee has frequently denied corruption by his relatives under this administration. If prosecutors confirm Lee Sang-deuk’s involvement in the scandal, he will go down in Korea’s political history for practicing nepotism.

Taking this opportunity, prosecutors must get to the bottom of the matter. By doing so, they can free themselves from the perception of being “clean-up” prosecutors, referring to their exoneration of President Lee’s close aides and relatives. In addition to Lee Sang-deuk, prosecutors are poised to probe Park Jie-won, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party, and Rep. Chung Doo-un of the ruling party, according to experts. Park and Chung strongly deny wrongdoing, but prosecutors must conduct impartial investigations to clear all suspicions.