Two Former NIS Chiefs Arrested over Bribery Scandal

Two of three spy agency chiefs who served for ousted President Park Geun-hye have been arrested on charges of paying billions of won of the agency's funds to the presidential office during her term.
 
The Seoul Central District Court approved arrest warrants for Nam Jae-joon and Lee Byung-kee early Friday, recognizing considerable reason to suspect them of crimes and risk of fleeing or destroying evidence.
 
However, the court refused to grant a writ against Lee Byong-ho, saying that the suspect doesn't appear to pose any risk of flight or destroying evidence.
 
Nam was the first National Intelligence Service(NIS) chief under the Park government, while Lee Byung-kee was Nam's successor.
 
The prosecution suspects Nam initiated sending the NIS funds to the presidential office and pressured Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors to give business deals worth two-point-six billion won to a company affiliated with a pro-government civic group. 
 
Lee Byung-kee, who is accused of doubling the monthly payment to 100 million won, was detained without a formal warrant while being questioned on Monday. 
 
Lee Byung-ho allegedly sent NIS funds to former presidential secretaries for political affairs Cho Yoon-sun and Hyun Ki-hwan and used 500 million won from NIS funds to pay for secret opinion polls conducted by Park's presidential office.
 
The prosecution will decide on whether to request a warrant for Lee again and launch an investigation into the former president who is accused of receiving bribes from the spy agency.