Lee's elder brother undergoes 16-hour interrogation

President Lee Myung-bak's elder brother was sent home early Wednesday morning following a 16-hour-long interrogation over allegations that he took bribes from troubled savings banks and several others in return for peddling influence.

Emerging from the Supreme Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul at 1:40 a.m., where prosecutors began the questioning a day earlier, a tired-looking Lee Sang-deuk, 77, told reporters "I have sincerely responded to every question during the questioning."

The elder Lee, formerly a six-term legislator with the ruling Saenuri Party, is facing suspicions that he received around 600 million won ($528,200) from the chairmen of two troubled savings banks, which extensively lobbied politicians and government officials to avoid business suspension.

In addition to the allegations, the interrogation was also focused on finding out the suspicious nature of 150 million won he took from his former employer Kolon Group and 700 million won detected in a bank account of his staff, according to sources.

Prosecutors are planning to apply for a court warrant to detain him for further questioning on charges of taking illegal political funds and peddling influence in return for bribes, the sources said. (Yonhap News)