Prosecutors summoned a local businessman Monday for questioning as part of their probe into allegations that former President Lee Myung-bak used his power to help his brother recoup a lost investment before other investors.

The chief of a local firm, Optional Capital, filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office earlier this month, accusing Lee and former Consul-General Kim Jae-soo in Los Angeles of possible abuse of power.

The firm's head, only identified by his last name Chang, claimed that Lee pulled the strings through Kim to have BBK, an investment advisory firm run by Korean-American Kim Kyung-joon, pay 14 billion won ($12.4 million) to DAS, an auto parts manufacturer in which Lee's elder brother owns a controlling stake.

(Yonhap)
(Yonhap)

Chang insists that the money was to be paid to his company for recovery of the losses, but it was given to DAS because Lee hampered the transaction process. DAS had apparently invested about 19 billion won in BBK.

The investigation draws attention as it could lead to the reopening of a high-profile stock manipulation case in BBK, for which its head Kim was convicted and served a prison term.

Allegations at that time were that Kim fixed the stock price of Optional Ventures, a subsidiary of BBK, pocketed millions of dollars in illegal profits and embezzled hundreds of billions of won in company money in the early 2000s.

Lee had been alleged to be the real owner of BBK, although suspicions were never substantiated in the prosecution probe launched then.

However, fresh allegations arose recently after local media reported that Lee's son, Si-hyung, has been appointed as head of some of DAS' China-based units and that the former consul-general had attended an emergency meeting at DAS. (Yonhap)