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SEOUL: South Korea’s incoming president Lee Myung Bak was cleared
of fraud allegations by a special prosecutor on Thursday, bolstering
his authority before he takes office next week.
“We found the president-elect was not involved
in stock manipulation,” prosecutor Chung Ho Young announced after
a 40-day investigation by his team.
The 2001 stock manipulation scandal plagued
Lee’s election campaign last year. Nonetheless, Lee could take
office on Monday and even if he has been found at fault, he would be
immune from prosecution while in office.
The inquiry’s findings remove a potentially
serious embarrassment that could have also damaged his conservative
party’s chances in April’s general election.
Some 45,000 guests have been invited to
Monday’s inauguration, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
Lee welcomed the probe findings, saying it would
help him focus on his pledge to revitalize the economy with
business-friendly policies.
“It’s a good thing that all suspicions about
me were cleared away again and that the new government can have a
fresh start,” he said in a statement. “I will return my
gratitude by serving the people with a sincere heart and dedicating
myself to reviving the economy.”
Lee, 66, had strongly denied any involvement in
the scam, for which his former business partner Kim Gyeong Jun is on
trial.
“We verified that Kim Gyeong Jun was
independently involved in stock manipulation using a paper
company,” Chung said. “It was committed by him alone. There’s
no evidence that the president-elect was involved in embezzlement or
share price manipulation.”
The special prosecutor also cleared Lee of
allegations that he lied about his wealth and that he owned real
estate in an upmarket district of Seoul.
The liberal United Democratic Party, which voted
for the special probe, expressed disappointment and accused the
special prosecutor of giving “an indulgence” to Lee.
-- AFP
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