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Feb. 11, 2012 / 9:01 AM

Top Lee aide resigns amid bribery scandal

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in the Cross Hall as they arrive for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, DC on October 13, 2011. The State Visit came a day after congress passed a free trade agreement with South Korea. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in the Cross Hall as they arrive for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, DC on October 13, 2011. The State Visit came a day after congress passed a free trade agreement with South Korea. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A senior aide to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has resigned amid reports prosecutors may question him in the alleged vote-buying scandal.

A presidential official told the Yonhap News Agency Lee accepted the resignation Saturday of Kim Hyo-jae, the president's senior political affairs secretary.

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Kim offered to resign Friday as news reports said prosecutors may question him as part of their investigation into accusations former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae bribed fellow Grand National Party lawmakers before being elected party leader in 2008. The ruling party recently renamed itself the Saenuri Party.

"President Lee accepted Kim's resignation offer, but he made no special comment on this," the presidential official said.

Prosecutors say testimony shows Kim's former aide gave envelopes of cash to lawmakers before a vote to choose a new party chief, suggesting Kim may have played a major role in the bribery scandal, Yonhap said.

Kim had been policy-monitoring chief for the election campaign of Park, who resigned Thursday, before being appointed as a senior presidential secretary last year.

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