South Korea's opposition presidential frontrunner was Monday facing a new ethics probe two days before the election, after a video clip emerged that appears to link him to a fraud-tainted firm. Analysts said Lee Myung-Bak is still expected to win Wednesday's vote, but the affair dating back to 2001 would cloud his first months in office.
Lee said late Sunday he would accept calls for an independent counsel to probe the murky affair, effectively giving parliament the green light to pass a bill later Monday to set up such an inquiry. Lee's conservative Grand National Party (GNP) had previously resisted efforts by pro-government lawmakers from the liberal camp to approve the bill, leading to fist fights in the legislature.
"I will accept the (bill on) the investigation by an independent counsel," Lee told a news conference late Sunday. State prosecutors on December 5 cleared Lee of involvement in a major 2001 fraud allegedly engineered by his former business partner and linked to the BBK investment firm.
The announcement immediately boosted his campaign. When the deadline for opinion polls expired last week, he was almost 30 percentage points ahead of his rivals. The video clip came to light Sunday after police arrested three men for trying to extort money from the GNP in return for withholding it.
The clip purportedly shows Lee claiming to be the founder of BBK, during a speech at a university in 2000. He has previously denied any involvement with the company.
"I have done nothing disgraceful regarding BBK," he said late Sunday. "There is only one truth and it cannot be changed." President Roh Moo-Hyun told his justice minister on Sunday to consider reopening the prosecution probe, an action denounced by the GNP as interference in the election. On Monday, the justice ministry side-stepped Roh's call but said it would accept an inquiry by an independent counsel if parliament votes for one.
Roh himself cannot stand for another term under the constitution. Most of his political allies are members of the newly formed liberal United New Democratic Party (UNDP). After the video emerged, UNDP candidate Chung Dong-Young called Lee "nothing more than a criminal.
"He must immediately stand down," he said. Lee, a 65-year-old former construction executive and ex-Seoul mayor, is seen by many as the candidate best suited to reinvigorate the economy after years of relatively modest growth.
The video "will deal a painful but not lethal blow to Lee Myung-Bak," said Chun In-Young, a political science professor at Seoul National University. Chun told AFP that Lee will still likely win but will be damaged while in office by a possible interrogation from an independent counsel. "It may be hard for him to push for strong policies in office."
Kang Won-Taek, political science professor at Soongsil University, agreed that Lee would probably win since voters have identified no real alternative. "What really concerns me is the post-election period. The scandal will continue to haunt Lee after the election and even in office," Kang said. "The political row will never die down as rival parties will try to make the most of it ahead of general elections in April next year.