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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - A COUSIN of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's wife has been detained over fraud allegations related to the nomination of candidates for parliamentary elections, prosecutors said on Friday.
The Prosecutors Office said it has asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Kim Ok Hee, a 74-year-old female cousin of first lady Kim Yoon Ok.
She is alleged to have received three billion won (S$4.1 million) from a businessman to help him become a ruling party candidate for elections last April, it said.
Prosecutors have also detained a 61-year-old man who allegedly acted as a broker between the cousin and the businessman.
The broker told the businessman that the cousin would help him become a legislator but the businessman failed to become a candidate for the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), Yonhap news agency said.
GNP spokesman Cha Myung Jin said the investigation was launched at the request of the president's office.
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