S.Korean Charges Another Ex- President With Corruption

South Korean prosecutors formally charged jailed ex-President Lee Myung-bak with a range of corruption charges on Monday, making him the country's fourth leader to face a criminal trial in about two decades.



Last Friday, Lee's conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 24 years in prison in a separate corruption scandal for which she was removed from office following months of huge anti-government rallies.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it charged Lee with taking a total of 11 billion won ($10 million) in bribes from the country's spy agency, Samsung and others.

Lee Myung-bak has also been charged with embezzling about 35 billion won ($33 million) in funds from DAS and evading corporate taxes totaling 3 billion won ($281,270), according to the prosecutors. Most of Lee's alleged crimes took place while he served as president from 2008 to 2013 or when he was a leading conservative ruling party candidate before winning the 2007 election, prosecutors said.