Parties call Lee's arrest 'due consequence,' demand thorough probe

SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- Political parties on Thursday described the arrest of former President Lee Myung-bak on a string of corruption charges as a "due consequence" and called for a thorough investigation to verify them.

The Seoul Central District Court has issued an arrest warrant for Lee, who led South Korea from 2008-2013, making him the country's fourth former president to be detained for corruption.

"(The decision to arrest him) was the citizens' will, and we deeply respect it," Kim Hyun, the spokeswoman of the ruling Democratic Party, said in her commentary.

"It is the duty of a former president to confess and seek forgiveness from citizens rather than keep on denying the charges," she added.

The prosecution has carried out the probe into Lee as part of a broad campaign to "eliminate accumulated ills." Lee has dismissed it as the liberal Moon Jae-in government's "political retribution" against conservatives.

The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party called Lee's arrest a "due result."

"There have been sufficient reasons to arrest him, given that former President Lee has categorically denied all criminal allegations," Kim Cheol-kun, the party's spokesman, said.

"With the court's decision to arrest him, we hope that the efforts to verify the suspicions being circulated in political circles can pick up speed," he added.

The minor Party for Democracy and Peace also described his arrest as a "due consequence."

"Given the possibility of him destroying evidence, in some sense, his arrest appears to be belated," Chang Jung-sook, the party's spokeswoman, said in her commentary.

"Former President Lee must conscientiously submit to the prosecution's investigation and trial procedures, and he should repent before citizens," she added.

The progressive Justice Party also called on Lee to take a period of self-reflection and contrition.

"Citizens do not seem to have any expectations for the former president," Choi Seon, the party's spokesperson, said. "What is left for the former president is stern legal judgment."

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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