Two South Korean ex-spy chiefs arrested over corruption scandal

SEOUL: Two former heads of South Korea’s spy agency were arrested yesterday 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 ByungKee, ex-heads of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), were arrested for allegedly handing at least 4 billion won (US$3.63 million) 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 to 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 key aides.

Two former aides to Park were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of taking the money from the NIS, and reportedly told investigators they had done so on the president’s order.

South Korea’s spy agency has already been accused of ab using its power to meddle in politics under two conservative ex-presidents.

A former senior NIS official was detained last month for allegedly leading a string of operations to monitor and undermine high-profile figures and celebrities critical of Park and her predecessor. — AFP