Arrest warrant former Korean presidential aide on corruption charges

Prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant Friday for a former presidential aide accused of receiving bribes from a troubled savings bank that sought his influence to avoid suspension of operations. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office filed for the court-issued warrant in order to detain Kim Du-woo, the former senior secretary of public relations for President Lee Myung-bak, and further investigate charges he received about 100 million won (US$85,689) from Park Tae-kyu, a key lobbyist for Busan Savings Bank. Park, who was arrested in late August, allegedly gave the money to Kim last year as well as a handful of other government officials and politicians, in search of their influence in the bank's efforts to avoid punitive suspension by the financial regulator. Despite the lobbying efforts, the bank was suspended from operations early this year due to capital shortages and low asset quality. Amid emerging bribe suspicions, Kim submitted his resignation last week.