Seoul — Two former heads of South Korea’s spy agency were arrested on Friday on suspicion of paying millions of dollars in bribes to aides of ousted president Park Geun-Hye, as a widening corruption scandal rocks the country. Nam Jae-Joon and Lee Byung-Kee, ex-heads of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), were arrested for allegedly handing at least 4-billion won ($3.63m) of their agency’s budget to Park’s aides in monthly payments in exchange for career advancement. The Seoul Central District Court approved the arrest warrants on the two, citing risk of flight and destruction of evidence. Former South Korean leader Park was toppled this year and is in custody while on trial for graft and influence-peddling. Nam and Lee, who respectively served under Park from 2013-2015, face charges including embezzlement, bribery and causing losses to state coffers. The pair reportedly told prosecutors that they had offered the "monthly payment" to Park’s office at the personal request of her ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.