President Myung-bak Lee of Korea, South
This picture has been released into the public domain
Despite being a new employee, Lee was sent to Thailand to participate on the project.
In 1996, Lee was re-elected as a member of the Korean National Assembly.
Lee had been personally responsible for the construction of a highway over the stream, which caused environmental damage.
Moreover, in October 2007, President Lee was chosen as the 'Hero of Environment' in Times magazine along with the former US.
During the primary, Lee was accused of profiting from illegal speculation on land owned in Dogok, an expensive district in Seoul.
Kim Kyung-joon had initially stated that Lee was not involved with the company, and Lee himself denied being associated with BBK, claiming that he had never held even a single share in it.
However, Kim later suggested that Lee had in fact directed BBK activities.
Kim admitted in the end that President Lee had nothing to do with the BBK scandal and that he tried to avoid the criminal liability by manipulating the circumstance Korea was in.
Lee has proposed a number of changes to the country's education system, reportedly with the aim of making education more appealing to the upper class.
Lee has also had to face corruption charges leveled at his administration.
Both Samsung and Lee denied the charges.
Lee was involved in a stock-manipulation case.
Today, Lee is likely to be South Korea's next President.
But Lee had the courage and the political smarts to realize that for South Korea's newly affluent middle class, the deal needed renegotiating.
Lee is now apparently ambivalent about it.
Lee had been the clear front-runner for months, he was dogged by questions about his ethics.
Lee has led an extraordinary life, portrayed as heroic in a 1990 television series called Time of Ambition.
Lee has a reputation as a pragmatist who, in contrast to President Roh Moo-hyun, holds few strong ideological positions.
Lee was accepted at Korea University here, one of the countrys top colleges, and was elected student president in the business department.
Lee was elected despite being the only student from his commercial high school.
Indeed, President Lee has been explicit in his desire to reaffirm the importance of the US.
President Lee has sent much firmer signals to North Korea that the Souths aid and investment will not be without conditions, in particular tied to progress in nuclear disarmament talks and to reciprocal gestures of good will toward the South.
Indeed, President Lee has saved the hard work for a new president.
In 1941, when the Korean peninsula was colonized by the Japanese imperial government, Lee was born as the fifth child in a family of seven children in Osaka, Japan.
At that time, Lee was sentenced a three-year jail term and a five-year suspended jail term on charges of leading anti-government movements.
In 1970, Lee married Kim Yoon-ok, who was once crowned May Queen at Ewha Womans University.
Lee said Chung misunderstood and recalled that the debate over the drama was one of the events that prompted him to sever his ties with Hyundai.
In March of that year, Lee turned to politics himself and was elected as a lawmaker.
It was during this time that Lee met Kim Gyeong-joon, who was at the center of a 38.
Lee is accused of manipulating BBK’s stock prices and misleading investors prior to the company’s declaration of bankruptcy.
Though some critics say that Lee destroyed cultural assets during the stream restoration project, Lee has defended himself by saying, “I met and persuaded merchants, who were opposed to the restoration for fear of losing their business, about 4,000 times.
About fourteen months later, on August 20, 2007, Lee has stepped closer to achieving his presidential ambitions with a pledge to “feed the Republic of Korea.
Mayor Lee is a hero for three reasons: he has his own perspective, he has played an important role as a catalyst for change, and he has lived a life worthy of imitation.
Seoul ParkFirst of all, his original perspective is one of the most important reasons that Mayor Lee is a hero.
In light of this criterion, Mayor Lee is a hero because he has his own clear-cut viewpoint.
From this point of view, Mayor Lee is a typical role model for youths who are dreaming of success in their lives.
Furthermore, Mayor Lee was selected as one of the 50 Leaders Contributing to National Development by Daily Chosun in 1998 and Personality of the Year 2005 by fDi Magazine, affiliate magazine of the Financial Times in 2005.
Thus, Mayor Lee has another reason to be regarded as a hero, which is that his life is worth imitating.
Since taking office 11 months ago, Lee has said he would not demand any new apology from Japan for its colonial rule and has pushed for improved ties with Tokyo, holding five summits with Japanese leaders.
Lee was sworn into office in an outdoor ceremony in front of the National Assembly here as tens of thousands of guests, including Condoleezza Rice, the US.
We will work to develop and further strengthen traditional friendly relations with the United States into a future-oriented partnership," Lee said in his speech.
Like his left-leaning predecessors, Lee said that policy toward the North should "prepare the foundation for unification.
I think your attack on me with the comment, "pushing my ego" is very absurd and offensive.
President-elect Lee is a member of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP or Hannara-dang), and his inauguration ends ten years of rule by progressive presidents; it is the second transition in power from the ruling party to the opposition since South Korea’s democratic transition in 1988.
Given his pro-business policies, Lee is well-suited to make his mark as “salesman-in-chief” for Korean economic interests at home and abroad.
Lee has also indicated his desire to have “future-oriented” relations with Japan, setting aside history issues and hoping that Japanese leaders will do the same.
At the same time, Lee has made it no secret that his first priority is to revitalize the relationship with the United States by making the alliance a platform for South Korea’s regional engagement.
Although Lee has also prioritized good relations with China and Russia by sending special envoys to Beijing and Moscow, there are early signs that Lee’s emphasis on the United States and Japan is making China uneasy while South Korea’s relationship with Russia continues to underperform its potential.
A sincere declaration¡± of all nuclear materials and stockpiles ¡°is more important even if it were delayed a little," Lee said Tuesday regarding North Korea's failure to meet the Dec 31 deadline.
While a candidate, Lee was criticized for the small difference with the ruling camp as far as North Korea is concerned.
Influenced by his 80 percent approval ratings and over 50 percent public support for continued aid to the North, Lee has yet to take a firm position toward the Kim Jong-il force.
As far as inter-Korean policy is concerned, Lee is no different from them.
SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said Monday he is still committed to giving away almost all his personal wealth, to encourage.
The North says agreements reached over the previous 10 years have been flouted since Lee took office - a claim denied by Seoul.
Lee has lost public confidence in his leadership over a broad range of policies at a time South Korea is grappling with a slowing economy and a prolonged crisis over North Koreas nuclear weapons programs, political analysts said.
Mr Lee has promised to revive South Koreas economy and take a harder stance towards North Korea.
Lee was forced to retreat himself, effectively reimposing a ban on imports of US.
Lee has three brothers and three sisters and is the fifth of seven children.
In 1964, during his third year in college, Lee was elected president of student council.
Lee is also a declared Christian and an elder at Somang Presbyterian Church in Seoul.
Lee has associated with thosewho pray for the Buddhisttemples in Korea to crumble.
follows through on pledges to provide vast amounts of aid.
affairs at Kyunghee University in Seoul, "he's different from President Roh.
He is likely to fall short on a number of his targets -- for example, it is highly unlikely that South Korea will achieve 7% annual growth, as he intends.
Economic revival is our most urgent task," Lee said in his inaugural speech after taking the oath of office as South Korea's first conservative president in a decade.
Lee said he would launch massive investment and aid projects in the North to increase its per capita income to $3,000 within a decade "once North Korea abandons its nuclear program and chooses the path to openness.
Lee is the 10th man to serve as South Korea's president and the first to come from a business background.
9 percent last year and 5 percent the year before, but Lee says it has underperformed.
Though Lee has vowed to broadly continue Seoul's policy of detente with the North, he has said he will approach the country with a more critical eye.
Lee said he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il whenever necessary.
What can be done better to achieve more? President Lee is set to push for his own "Vision 3000" policy toward the North.
Despite the agreement reached by the previous government, President Lee has hinted at the possibility that, should North Koreans further delay the complete and verifiable dismantlement of their nuclear weapons program, South Korean military forces might remain under US war-time command even after this date.
Raised in poverty before making millions in business, some say the life story of South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak mirrors that of his nation.
Mr Lee has a declared personal fortune of 35bn won (£18m; $37m.
As executive director of the reputed non-governmental organisation (NGO) the Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives, Francis Daehoon Lee has been an active pro-democracy activist since the early 1980s.
It held that if Lee is truly worried about "security", he should immediately drop his hostile policy toward the north and come out for the implementation of the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration.
Lee said he "will serve the people in a very humble way" and "according to the people's wishes, I will save the nation's economy that faces a crisis.
Lee is the first corporate executive to be elected president, and his campaign pledges were spreadsheet-specific.
The investigation must be completed before Lee is sworn in as president of Feb 25.
While insisting he has done nothing wrong, Lee said this week that if he were found at fault in the investigation, he would give up the presidency.
The probe into Lee was prompted from allegations by Lee's liberal rivals that he secretly controlled an investment firm accused of stock manipulation.
During his campaign, Lee said that he would resign as president if found to have been involved in financial irregularities.
Based on their own prediction system, and taking into account exit polls and early returns, the main public broadcaster KBS said Lee was "sure to win.
7 percent of the vote counted, Lee was leading with 46.
Lee has pledged to take a more critical view of Seoul's engagement with rival North Korea and seek closer US.
The counsel is to complete the probe before the Feb 25 inauguration, and Lee has said he would step aside from the presidency if found at fault.
Lee has made the economy central to his campaign, pledging to raise annual growth to 7 percent, double the country's per capita income to US$40,000 and lift South Korea to among the world's top seven economies - known as his "747" pledge.
Lee has said the taped comments were taken out of context and denied the allegations.
the announcement by National Election Commission (NEC.
quasi-taxes that have drawn criticism from businessmen.
trade agreements with foreign countries.