Arrest Warrant Request

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Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for former President Lee Myung-bak, five days after he came in for questioning. The prosecutors said that each of the charges that Lee is facing is serious enough to take him into custody.

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Prosecutors on Monday requested an arrest warrant for former President Lee Myung-bak. This comes five days after the disgraced former president appeared at the prosecutors' office for questioning. Lee is facing the charges of embezzlement, bribery and tax evasion. The prosecutors have found that Lee had received around 11 billion won in bribes and misappropriated 35 billion won. The arrest warrant alone exceeds 200 pages, while another one thousand pages list opinions on why Lee Myung-bak must be taken into custody. The prosecutors clearly explained each of the reasons for requesting an arrest warrant. First off, the criminal law says that those who give final instructions, or call the shots, on crimes and benefit from them deserve a harsher punishment. The prosecutors said that each of the charges that Lee is facing is grave enough to have him detained while the investigation is ongoing. Another reason for requesting an arrest warrant is the high possibility of Lee destroying evidence as he has denied even the most basic facts. The fact that all of Lee Myung-bak's accomplices are already under arrest also added weight to the prosecutors' decision in terms of fairness. If the warrant is issued, Lee will become the fourth former president of South Korea to be arrested after Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan and Park Geun-hye. The prosecutors launched the probe into DAS slush funds and the company's actual owner in October 2017. Lee Myung-bak was interrogated on March 14, 150 days since the start of the investigation. The Seoul Central District Court will likely begin deliberations on Lee's arrest warrant as early as Wednesday. The outcome will be clear by the next morning.