Former President Lee Myung-bak refused to undergo an interrogation by prosecutors Monday, his attorney said, after he was arrested over a string of corruption charges last week.

Lee was taken into custody early Friday after a court issued a warrant over 12 counts of corruption, including bribery, abuse of power and embezzlement, following a five-month probe by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutors in charge of the case visited the Seoul Eastern Detention Center at around 2 p.m. They requested a meeting with Lee for another interrogation, but it never took place as Lee refused to meet, the prosecution said in a message to reporters.


Kang Hoon, attorney of arrested former President Lee Myung-bak, holds a press conference at his office in southern Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
The prosecutors apparently tried to talk him into cooperating with the probe as they stayed in the facility for two hours to persuade him but to no avail. They left the detention center at 3:20 p.m.

"Ex-President Lee told me earlier in the day he will not go through the questioning, and we have delivered our position to the prosecution," Lee's attorney Kang Hoon said during a press conference in Seoul, claiming they cannot expect a "fair investigation."

Following the announcement, prosecutors said they will visit the detention center in the afternoon as planned to carry out the interrogation.

The 76-year-old is accused of embezzling about 35 billion won ($32 million) from a company that he is said to secretly own and of evading related taxes.

Other charges include abuse of power, breach of trust, illegally stashing presidential documents and a violation of election law.

Lee was president from 2008 to early 2013. Before that, he served as Seoul mayor, a lawmaker and the chief executive of Hyundai Engineering and Construction. (Yonhap)