Earlier in the morning, the weekly magazine Sisa Journal reported that Ban allegedly received a kickback worth $230,000 from Park Yeon-cha, a businessman who was at the center of the corruption scandal involving close aides to and family members of late President Roh Moo-hyun.
"While I am not sure about the veracity (of the report), I don`t know anything about it," Lee claimed.
Citing several anonymous sources close to Park, the magazine quoted Park as saying that he handed a paper bag carrying $200,000 in cash to Ban at the residence of the foreign minister in Hannam-dong, southern Seoul, in 2005. Ban was the foreign minister at that time.
The magazine also reported, citing a person close to Park, that Park asked the owner of a restaurant in New York to pass on another US$30,000 to Ban in early 2007, right after Ban was elected U.N. secretary-general. The money was allegedly given to Ban.
The probe team covered up the allegations for fear of causing damage to national interests, even though it had secured the testimony from Park in March 2009 that he gave money to Ban, the report continued, citing Park`s lawyer.
He added that even if it were true, the allegations in 2005 won`t be prosecutable because the statute of limitations on a bribery charge is only 10 years. Regarding the one in 2007, he said: "It is not a lot of money. And it doesn`t make sense that the money was handed over at the restaurant frequented by Park."
Lee assumed major posts at the prosecutors` office and left the organization in July 2009.
/Yonhap/
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