Special prosecutors on Thursday questioned a key figure involved in the now-scrapped retirement house project for President Lee Myung-bak.

Kim Tae-hwan, a former official at the presidential security service, appeared at the independent counsel’s office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul.

Kim was in charge of purchasing the land for the retirement house, and is the first to have been summoned by the counsels for the investigation since its launch on Tuesday.

He did not answer questions by reporters upon arrival in the morning, especially those on whether he was ordered to decide the price of the land and cost sharing between the Lees and the Blue House.

Kim, who was a reference in the last probe by prosecutors, was summoned this time as a suspect.

He is accused of damaging the nation’s coffers by having the government bear most of the expenses in buying the land for Lee’s home and auxiliary facilities.

He was hired as a contract official to deal with the land purchase and was in charge of the task for former late Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.

According to the last probe, which acquitted all 7 people involved, including President Lee and his son Si-hyung, of the allegations in June, Kim made a contract with a real estate agency to buy the land in Naegok-dong on the southern edge of Seoul for 5.4 billion won ($4.9 million) from the former owner surnamed Yoo.

Yoo is said to have been in the U.S. since May.

The presidential security service spent 4.28 billion won and the rest was paid by Si-hyung, who borrowed 600 million won from his uncle Lee Sang-eun and the same amount of money from his mother Kim Yoon-ok.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)