CCTV News:On the 15th, the South Korean prosecutor said that former President Lee Myung-bak admitted to taking bribes during interrogation, saying that during his presidency, he received $100,000, or about 630,000 yuan, from Yuan Shixun, then president of the National Intelligence Agency, through an assistant of the presidential palace. However, Lee Myung-bak refused to explain how the money was used and whether it was related to his wife. The prosecution suspected that the money was used by Li Mingbo’s wife for private use.

　　　　　　 Prosecutors said that Lee Myung-bak also admitted to charging his eldest brother 6.7 billion won, or about 39.7 million yuan, for the renovation of private houses, but he said it was only a loan. Lee Myung-bak denied all other alleged charges raised by the prosecution.

Li Mingbo (data map)

　　　　　　 The South Korean prosecutor’s interrogation of Lee Myung-bak lasted from the morning of 14th local time to the early morning of 15th local time. Lee Myung-bak faces nearly 20 charges, including bribery, embezzlement, dereliction of duty, abuse of power and violation of the electoral law. One of the focus cases is the DAS case of auto parts manufacturing enterprise. The prosecution also accused Lee Myung-bak of accepting bribes from intelligence agencies and large Korean companies after winning the presidential election and in his early years in office.

　　　　　　 [Background] Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was involved in many cases.

　　　　　　 Lee Myung-bak became the president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013, and was suspected to be involved in many cases of bribery and violation of regulations, including a case involving the transfer of interests of Samsung Electronics.

　　　　　　 South Korean prosecutors accused Lee Myung-bak of accepting bribes from Samsung Electronics in 2009 and issuing a "presidential pardon" for Lee Kin-hee, the president of Samsung Electronics, who was facing imprisonment for tax evasion. Samsung Electronics is believed to have paid 6 billion won (about 35.72 million yuan) in legal fees to an American law firm representing Li Mingbo. However, both sides denied the theory of interest transfer and believed that the prosecution’s allegations were unfounded. Lee Myung-bak called the investigation "political retaliation" against him.

　　　　　　 In addition, Li Mingbo is also involved in the "tribute" case. The prosecution suspects that many of Lee Myung-bak’s assistants regularly receive "tribute" funds from the National Intelligence Agency, and these funds actually flowed into the presidential palace at the behest of Lee Myung-bak.

　　　　　　 Lee Myung-bak was also involved in several corruption scandals, and many family members and cronies were investigated or arrested. One of them is the secret fund scandal of DAS. Lee Myung-bak is accused of being the real boss behind this enterprise. The prosecution suspects that the company set up a secret fund with a total amount of 12 billion won (about 70.14 million yuan) in the name of others to achieve the purpose of misappropriating public funds and tax evasion.

　　　　　　 In addition, Sang-Duk Lee, the elder brother of Lee Myung-bak, was suspected of taking bribes of about 2.2 billion won (about 13.01 million yuan) from Li Basheng, a former executive of Woori Financial Holding Company, before the 2007 presidential election. The prosecution suspects that Lee Myung-bak may also be involved.