Opposition floor leader denies bribery allegations in prosecution questioning

The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party denied allegations of bribery suspicions after being questioned by prosecutors until early Wednesday morning.

Emerging from the Supreme Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul around 1 a.m., Rep. Park Jie-won told reporters he had sincerely responded to "absurd allegations" and was honest about everything as the allegations against him are groundless.

On Tuesday, Park voluntarily appeared before prosecutors after earlier refusing three summons notices. Tensions escalated between rival parties when prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Park and the government filed a motion with the National Assembly asking for parliamentary consent to his arrest.

Park, a three-term lawmaker, is accused of accepting 80 million won (US70,000) from two ailing savings banks in 2007 and 2010 for using his influence to try to prevent the lenders from being shut down, according to prosecutors.

"The prosecution will soon decide on requesting a second subpoena after reviewing investigation results," a prosecution official close to the investigation said, adding that they intend to again seek an arrest warrant for him if needed. (Yonhap News)