韩国宪法法庭裁决说，对当选总统李明博涉嫌金融欺诈指控的特别调查可以进行。法庭星期四的裁决为一名特别检察官最早下星期开始调查李明博被指与2001年一起股票操控丑闻有牵连铺平了道路。调查预计会在李明博2月25号宣誓就职时完成。
法庭的裁决是对李明博的一些亲属和商业夥伴上星期提出的一项要求做出的回应。他们声称这项调查违宪。韩国检察官已经认定对李明博的指控不成立，但是他的政治对手在李明博以压倒优势赢得上个月总统大选胜利的前几天提出了此案的新证据。
李明博否认这些诈骗指称，并保证如果被判定有罪，他将放弃总统职位。
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a special investigation into financial fraud allegations against President-elect Lee Myung-bak can proceed. The court’s decision Thursday clears the way for a special prosecutor to begin investigating Mr. Lee’s alleged links to a 2001 stock manipulation scandal as early as next week. The investigation is expected to wrap up around the time Mr. Lee is sworn into office on February 25th.
The court’s decision was a response to a request last week from a group of Mr. Lee’s relatives and business partners who claimed the probe was unconstitutional. Prosecutors have already cleared him of the charges, but his political opponents produced new evidence in the case days before he won a landslide victory in last month’s presidential race.
Mr. Lee denies the fraud allegations and has pledged to abandon his presidency if found at fault.