Prosecutors on Tuesday morning raided Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's house in Bundang amid suspicions that Lee's wife used a pseudonymous Twitter handle to spread fake news about President Moon Jae-in and other political rivals of her husband.

Prosecutors raided the house in search for a missing smartphone that Lee and his wife Kim Hye-gyeong used during the race for the presidential candidacy in the Minjoo Party, when Lee was up against Moon and others. Lee has claimed he lost the phone.

Prosecutors also searched his provincial office in Suwon. Lee said he is ready to cooperate with prosecutors and expressed hope that his wife will be free from suspicion soon.

Kim is suspected of having conducted smear campaigns against Moon and others under the Twitter handle 08_hkkim since 2013. Lee denies the allegations and claims e-mail accounts linked to the Twitter account were hacked. </s> Prosecutors on Tuesday raided Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung's office and home, apparently to search for his wife's old mobile phone believed to hold crucial evidence in investigations into her suspected role in political slander.



Prosecutors and investigators from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office began the raid on Lee's home in Seongnam, south of Seoul, at around 9 a.m.







(Yonhap)

About the same time, another group of prosecutors searched Lee's office in Suwon in the presence of the governor and his lawyer.The raid was apparently intended to retrieve an iPhone used by Lee's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, from July 2016 until April this year, when allegations of her involvement in online slandering of Lee's election rivals surfaced.Kim, who is suspected of posting slanderous messages on social media sites via her mobile phone, changed her iPhone and phone number in April and told police investigators later that she was not aware of its whereabouts.Police recently identified the owner of the Twitter ID "Hyekyunggung Ms. Kim," who left numerous defamatory comments before and during elections in recent years, as Kim.Police suspect she wrote comments in December 2016 against President Moon Jae-in, then Lee's potential rival in the Democratic Party's primary for the 2017 presidential election. She accused Moon of using his influence to help his son land a job at a public institution years ago.Police also claimed she wrote in April this year that one of Lee's rivals in the DP primary for the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial election collaborated with the conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party.She faces charges of defamation and spreading of false information.Prosecutors believe Kim used the missing iPhone to write the two controversial posts.Tuesday's raids came eight days after police referred the case to the prosecution with an opinion of indictment.Kim was previously questioned by police but strongly denied any wrongdoing. Lee, former Seongnam mayor, has denounced the police for making politically motivated, baseless accusations while disregarding any evidence in Kim's favor. (Yonhap) </s> SEOUL (AFP/BLOOMBERG) - South Korean prosecutors on Saturday (Oct 29) raided the presidential Blue House, as well as the homes and offices of senior advisers to President Park Geun Hye, as she struggled with a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving a close family friend.

The crisis centred around Ms Park's long-time confidante Choi Soon Sil has rocked her presidency, thanks largely to a lurid back-story involving talk of religious cults, shamanist rituals and corruption.

In Saturday's raids, prosecutors confiscated computers and documents from the homes of a top presidential adviser and two other aides as well as a deputy culture minister, Yonhap news agency said. They also searched some offices in the presidential Blue House complex, Yonhap said.

The investigators searched the offices of two presidential secretaries at 2pm in Seoul and may continue until Sunday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said in a text message.

It added that the homes of seven current and former government employees were visited in the morning.

It is the first time the Blue House has been searched since prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to enter the presidential complex in 2012 under President Lee Myung Bak over a corruption scandal involving his retirement home.

The move came ahead of a mass protest in Seoul, organised after it emerged that Ms Park had allowed Ms Choi, who has no official post or security clearance, to meddle in affairs of state.

Thousands of people were expected to turn out for the candle-lit demonstration and call on the president, whose popularity ratings have plunged to record lows, to step down.

Ms Choi is being investigated for using her ties to Ms Park to coerce money out of major conglomerates, but the real shock has been revelations that Ms Park had allowed Ms Choi to vet her presidential speeches and apparently advise her on crucial policy choices.

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Ms Park has publicly apologised and late on Friday she told 10 of her senior advisers to tender their resignations ahead of a reshuffle of her presidential office.

Ms Choi, 60, is the daughter of shadowy religious figure Choi Tae Min, who headed a cult-like group and was a long-time mentor to Park up until his death in 1994.

Media reports have portrayed Ms Choi as a Rasputin-like figure with an inappropriate and unhealthy influence over Park that she inherited from her father.

Ms Choi left the country for Germany in early September as reports of her alleged influence-peddling began to emerge.

An early banner displayed at the venue for Saturday's rally read "Choi come back, Park get out".

Ms Choi's lawyer said she was well aware of the "gravity" of the situation and was "willing to return home to be questioned and punished if she did anything wrong".

Prosecutors have taken in two of Ms Choi's close aides for questioning, including one who told reporters that Ms Choi had been behaving as Ms Park's de facto regent. </s> SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors have raided the Seoul office of Samsung Electronics in connection with a snowballing influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office says Tuesday's raid was part of investigation into the scandal centering on how much Park's friend Choi Soon-sil meddled in state affairs though she doesn't have any government job.

The prosecutors' office gave no further details. Yonhap news agency says the raid was related to a suspicion that Samsung gave Choi's daughter illicit financial help.

Park visited National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Monday to discuss how to defuse a political crisis triggered by the scandal. The results of their meeting weren't immediately known.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Seoul on Saturday, demanding Park's removal from office. </s> SEOUL, South Korea -- Prosecutors have requested the arrest of the Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong as a bribery suspect in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president.

The special prosecutors office said Monday that it requested an arrest warrant for Lee, the 48-year-old Samsung Electronics vice chairman.

It said it also indicted ex-health minister Moon Hyung-pyo on charges he abused his power to compel the national pension fund to support a contentious Samsung merger in 2015.

Last week, the investigators questioned Lee on allegations Samsung won government favors such as getting backing for the merger in exchange for donating corporate funds to various entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye. She has been jailed.

Lee earlier denied the allegations. Samsung had no comment. </s> Former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Is Arrested On Graft Charges

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has been arrested over a host of corruption allegations, ranging from bribery to embezzlement and tax evasion. Live footage on local media showed Lee submitting to his arrest warrant at home late at night, getting into a black sedan flanked by two law enforcement officers.

"I feel that all is my fault," Lee said in a handwritten statement posted to Facebook shortly after the warrant was issued, "and I feel a sense of guilt."

That said, the 76-year-old conservative politician has denied the charges against him, with Lee rejecting the investigation as "political revenge" mounted by the current administration in office, headed by liberal President Moon Jae-in.

Lee, who led the country from 2008 to 2013, is just the latest high-profile South Korean politician to find himself embroiled in legal woes. His conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, saw her own presidency unravel last year under the weight of a massive graft scandal of her own. She, too, is currently in detention, arrested around this time last year on charges that could spell a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

This is not the first time South Korea has had two of its former leaders "behind bars at the same [time]," as South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports:

Lee, for his part, stands accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from a variety of individuals and organizations — including, according to The Associated Press, his own intelligence agency. Yonhap notes he is also alleged to have embezzled tens of millions more from a private company.

"Other charges include abuse of power, breach of trust, illegally stashing presidential documents and a violation of election law," Yonhap explains.

Chang Je-won, spokesperson for the Liberty Korea Party, the conservative opposition to Moon's government, was on hand at Lee's residence to watch the ex-president being taken away. And he released a statement expressing his party's regret at the development.

"Should living as a former president in this country be this difficult?" he said. "I hope former President Lee will be the last victim of a political revenge."

Prosecutors have 20 days to hold Lee at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, while they decide whether to slap him with formal charges. </s> SEOUL, South Korea — Prosecutors requested the arrest Monday of the Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong as a bribery suspect in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president.

The special prosecutor's office said it had asked the court to approve a warrant for the arrest of Lee, the 48-year-old Samsung Electronics vice chairman.

Samsung is South Korea's biggest company, and Lee is its de facto head.

The prosecutors office said it also indicted ex-health minister Moon Hyung-pyo on charges he abused his power to compel the national pension fund to support a contentious Samsung merger in 2015.

Last week, the investigators questioned Lee on allegations Samsung won government favors such as getting backing for the merger in exchange for donating corporate funds to various entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye. She has been jailed.

Lee earlier denied the allegations. Samsung had no comment when asked about the arrest warrant. </s> SEOUL: A former South Korean presidential contender was indicted Wednesday on charges of raping his aide multiple times in the highest-profile case of the country’s growing #MeToo movement.

Ahn Hee-jung — who was widely seen as a strong contender to replace President Moon Jae-in when his term ends in 2022 — was formally charged with rape and sexual harassment by abuse of power, a spokesman at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office said.

The spokesman said Ahn’s first hearing is expected next month.

Prosecutors opened an investigation into Ahn after his aide said in a television interview that he had raped her four times since she was hired last June.

Fighting back tears, Kim Ji-eun, who was Ahn’s personal assistant before becoming an aide in civil affairs, said last month that she had been unable to reject her boss in the rigid hierarchy of her office.

The 54-year-old politician has since stepped down from his post as the governor of South Chungcheong province and issued a formal apology but has claimed the sex was “consensual”.

But detailed accounts from the victim as well as testimonies from witnesses provided evidence of Ahn’s crimes, an official at the prosecutors’ office told Yonhap news agency.

A second woman had come forward shortly after Kim’s interview but prosecutors said her case will be excluded due to lack of evidence.

Ahn will not be physically detained as the court has denied the prosecutors’ demand for an arrest warrant.

It has been an astonishing fall from grace for Ahn, who enjoyed huge popularity among young, liberal voters thanks to his wholesome image and good looks.

Ahn came second to Moon in the contest for the ruling Democratic Party’s presidential nomination last year and was seen as a favourite for the next elections.

Ahn threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign against abuse of women in a public speech made just hours before Kim appeared on live TV to talk about the sex abuse she allegedly suffered at his hands.

Victims of sex abuse in patriarchal South Korea are reluctant to come forward due to fears of public shaming.

But Seo Ji-Hyeon, a prosecutor, in January made the rare move of appearing on live TV to talk about sex abuse by her superior.

Her interview opened a floodgate of similar revelations by women who accused figures including politicians, actors and film directors. </s> South Korea’s Special Prosecutor’s Office on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Samsung chief Jay Y Lee, who is accused of paying bribes worth millions to President Park Geun-hye’s friend, who is at the centre of an extortion scandal. Jay Lee is also accused of embezzlement and perjury, according to the application for an arrest warrant, Reuters reported.

The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics faces allegations of paying bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Choi Soon-sil, the president’s long-time friend and confidante. He had allegedly paid bribed to ensure the merger of two company affiliates as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

Spokesman for the prosecution Lee Kyu-chul said that the office had evidence to prove that both Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil had profited from payments made by the Samsung chief. “The special prosecutors’ office, in making this decision to seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence,” he added.

Samsung – South Korea’s largest conglomerate, generating about 17% of the country’s revenue – has denied the accusations: “It is especially hard to accept the special prosecutor’s assertion that there was improper request for a favour related to the merger or succession of control,” the company said in a statement. Shares of Samsung Electronics ended 2.14% lower after the news broke.

The South Korean Parliament had impeached President Park Geun-Hye on December 9, following accusations of colluding with Choi Soon-sil to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies. The money, which was transferred to non-profit foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, was allegedly used for personal gains. The president also faces accusations of ordering her aides to leak official state documents to her friend, who has no official position in the South Korean government.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea has six months to decide on whether it will uphold the impeachment motion. Till then, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn holds the responsibility of running the country. If the court decides to remove Park Geun-Hye from the position, South Korea will have to elect a new president within 60 days of the ruling.
Prosecutors raid the house of Gyeonggi Province governor Lee Jae-myung amid suspicions that his wife used a pseudonymous Twitter handle to spread fake news about President Moon Jae-in and other political rivals of her husband.