Bowing to pressure from political parties, President Lee Myung-bak on Friday appointed an independent counsel to probe suspicions concerning a canceled plan to build his retirement home.

Progressive lawyer Lee Kwang-bum will head the special investigation into the scandal involving his son and aides.

The former judge was one of two candidates recommended by the opposition Democratic United Party earlier this week along with lawyer Kim Hyeong-tae.

“The president has made the nomination, thinking that a bad law is still a law, however unjust it is,” Choe Geum-nak, senior presidential secretary for public relations told reporters.

“The special probe has been seen as political motivated ahead of the presidential election, but (the president has decided) to nominate the special prosecutor for a smooth election process,” he said.

The case centers on Lee’s son, Si-hyung, and aides who last year bought a plot of land in Naegok-dong on the southern edge of Seoul for a retirement home for Lee and auxiliary facilities for security personnel there.

They had been accused of violating real estate laws and misappropriating taxpayers’ money. Lee later scrapped the project and decided to move into his existing private house in Nonhyeon-dong in southern Seoul after leaving office.

The Presidential Office denied any wrongdoing and all involved, including Shi-hyung, were cleared of charges by state prosecutors in June.

Lee’s office turned down the two candidates Wednesday, citing a lack of inter-party consensus over what should be a “politically neutral” procedure. It requested re-nomination through bipartisan consultation.

The rejection sparked a heated political row.

The main opposition Democratic United Party criticized Lee, as it seeks to make the probe a key campaign issue for the Dec. 19 presidential election, while the ruling Saenuri Party strove to contain negative fallout on its candidate.

The DUP had warned that Lee could contravene the special probe law should he not appoint one of the lawyers by Friday ― within the five days of its recommendation as stipulated in the law.

Lee’s office had expressed unease over the DUP-picked candidates known for their progressive views.

The DUP and the Saenuri Party agreed in June to push for independent counsel legislation, after tough negotiations over parliamentary committee chairmanships and other issues to open the new National Assembly.

Passed last month, the law states that the DUP is to recommend two candidates, one of whom Lee is to appoint. The parties informally agreed to seek sufficient consultation before finalizing the recommendation.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)