News / Koreas

South Korea’s President Park accepts resignation of Prime Minister Lee

Monday, 27 April 2015 1:31 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 27 April 2015 1:34 PM ]

South Korea’s Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo bows during his farewell ceremony at the Central Government Complex in Seoul, April 27, 2015. © AP

South Korea’s president has accepted the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo over a corruption scandal that has drawn public criticism against the government.

The office of President Park Geun-hye in Seoul confirmed acceptance of resignation on Monday.

The premier left office after making a farewell speech.

The South Korean president, who has the executive power, has yet to announce the replacement.

In South Korea, the prime minister leads the government in case of incapacitation of the president.

Prime Minister Lee took office on February 17. He was at the center of the corruption scandal, which reached its climax after the suicide of one of the country’s powerful businessmen who admitted to bribing the premier and several other close allies of the president.

The businessman, Sung Wan-jong, who was the chairman of Keangnam Enterprise, a bankrupt construction company, hanged himself in Seoul on April 9.

In his pocket, police found a note that listed the names of eight people, including Prime Minister Lee. Before his death, in a newspaper interview, Sung claimed to have given Lee 30 million won (about USD 27,000) in cash in 2013, when he was running for a parliamentary seat.

Several high-level officials in the Park administration face bribery allegations. The president has vowed to punish the corrupt elements.

The premier tendered his resignation on April 20. President Park rued the decision the day after, saying, “I find it regrettable. I also feel sympathy for the agony of the prime minister.”

South Korea’s main opposition party had earlier said it would seek Lee’s impeachment over the scandal.

Lee is not the first prime minister of South Korea to have resigned over the past year. In April 2014, then Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned after the tragic ferry disaster of April 16, where more than 300 people died.

Chung said he had failed to effectively oversee the rescue operations.

JR/HSN/SS

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