South Korea: Former spy chiefs arrested for corruption

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Lee Byung-Kee in court in Seoul, 16 NovemberImage source, EPA
Image caption,

Lee Byung-Kee attended a court hearing on Thursday on the legitimacy of the arrest warrant against him

South Korean police have arrested two former spy chiefs over allegations that they illegally diverted funds to aides of former President Park Geun-hye.

Nam Jae-Joon and Lee Byung-Kee face charges of embezzlement and bribery over payments of some $3.6m (£2.7m) from the security agency's budget.

They deny wrongdoing, saying they believed the payments were legal.

Ms Park was impeached earlier this year and charged with bribery, abusing state power and leaking secrets.

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The two men headed the National Intelligence Service between 2013 and 2017.

The two former aides to Ms Park, Ahn Bong-geun and Lee Jae-man, were arrested earlier this month on bribery and other charges.

Nam Jae-Joon and Lee Byung-Kee admit paying the aides regularly but insist they thought they were a presidential request which they could not deny, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports., external

The latest arrests are part of a widening investigation into corruption.

President Moon Jae-in was elected to succeed Ms Park after pledging to battle corruption.