Corruption Case

[Anchor Lead]

Former President Lee Myung-bak appeared at the prosecutors’ office for questioning on more than ten corruption-related charges. He becomes the fifth ex-president of South Korea to face prosecution after leaving office. The investigation into Lee Myung-bak has drawn comparisons to the probe into his successor, former President Park Geun-hye.

[Pkg]

Former President Lee Myung-bak appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

[Soundbite] Fmr. President Lee Myung-bak : "I feel miserable standing here today. I am sorry to have caused trouble to the public in times when the economy is not doing well and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is so grave."

Lee said there was much he wanted to say as an ex-president, but would rather spare comment, and that he hoped that such incidents would never happen again in Korean history. Lee did not answer the journalists' question of whether he admitted to bribery. Instead, he headed straight to the investigation room. Lee is being interrogated in the same room where Park Geun-hye was investigated last year. Lee Myung-bak is facing more than ten charges, including bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion, abuse of power and violation of the Public Official Election Act and the Presidential Records Act. The amount of bribes that have been allegedly accepted by Lee surpass 10 billion won. Prosecutors will grill the former president over whether he was aware of the bribes and who the actual owner of DAS is.