A provincial governor appeared at the prosecution office here Friday for an interrogation into allegations he accepted bribes while campaigning for a party leadership election in 2011.
Hong Joon-pyo, governor of South Gyeongsang Province, is among those presumed to have been bribed by the chairman of a construction company who committed suicide last month.
Late businessman Sung Wan-jong left behind a note listing eight names, including those of former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and several of President Park Geun-hye’s close aides, next to what appeared to be sums of money.
Hong, a former four-term lawmaker, is the first on the list to face questioning by the prosecution.
He is suspected of taking some 100 million won ($92,000) from the late chairman when he was running to become the chairman of what is now the ruling Saenuri Party.
Previously a famed prosecutor himself, Hong also faces allegations that he tried to cajole a key aide into covering up the bribery suspicions.
“I feel very sorry for causing people concern about affairs like this,” Hong told reporters before entering the prosecution building in southern Seoul. But he rejected the cover-up allegations.
Former Prime Minister Lee is likely to be summoned as early as next week.
Lee is accused of having taken 30 million won from the late chairman when he was running in a regional by-election in 2013. (Yonhap)
