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By Ahn Chang-hyun, Blue House correspondent

As President Lee Myung-bak approaches the end of his term, the Blue House is being coming under fire from three directions at once. The last six months of Lee’s term could easily see him subjected to a series of special prosecutorial or parliamentary investigations into cases of corruption and wrongdoing in which he has been directly or indirectly implicated. These include illegal surveillance of civilians, the use of state funds for an expensive retirement residence and the forging of a letter as part of the so-called “BBK scandal.”

At the Blue House on June 14, all was quiet. There was no mention of the outcome of prosecutors’ reinvestigation of the illegal monitoring case, which had been announced the previous day. Blue House said also nothing about media reports that it had made phone calls to several media outlets before the prosecutors’ announcement in an attempt to play down the severity of the case. Lee himself merely went about the day’s schedule of public appearances, attending a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Beneath the apparently placid surface, however, the Blue House’s political affairs staff was reportedly making frantic attempts to gauge the mood among media and politicians and handle the crisis accordingly. The panic at the president‘s office was due to discussions in political circles of how to proceed with an investigation by special prosecutors or parliament, which began immediately after the results of the latest investigation were announced on June 13.

New Frontier Party spokesperson Kim Yeong-u stated that his party would consider a special prosecutors’ investigation if public suspicions on the issue of illegal surveillance are not sufficiently resolved. The Democratic United Party is making strong demands for a parliamentary investigation.

This could be just the beginning. Many are calling for the same investigations to be conducted into charges surrounding the retirement residence, which were dismissed by prosecutors on June 10. On top of this, prosecutors are expected to soon announce the findings of their investigation into a “forged BBK letter” as part of the possible planned return of BBK president Kim Kyung-joon to Korea.

Many expect that prosecutors will again be unable to level charges against high-ranking figures. Discussions in the National Assembly suggest that Lee, in the final months of his term of office, could find himself slapped with a “triple crown” of investigations by special prosecutors or parliament.

“It seems we won’t be able to bring a special prosecutorial investigation into both the public monitoring and retirement residence cases, and will have to have a parliamentary investigation into one of them,” said one NFP lawmaker.

Blue House officials are struggling to hide their frustration. Their relation with the ruling party is not what it once was, and the NFP has now begun distancing itself from the president’s office as it turns its sights to December‘s presidential election.

“We hoped the prosecutors’ investigation would clear these suspicions, but we can’t shake them off,” said one high-ranking Blue House official. “What can we do? We can only wait and see what happens.”

On June 17, Lee is due to leave on a 10-day tour of four South American countries. His itinerary was planned in advance but it does make him appear to be leaving his seat right when the political world is in uproar following the outcome of prosecutors’ investigation. Lee’s South American tour coincides with a trip overseas by justice minister Kwon Jae-jin. Kwon left on June 11 for an 11-day tour of the United States and Brazil. It appears he is avoiding the announcement of a prosecutorial investigation in which he was at the center of suspicions.

Last October President Lee left for Washington DC for a summit meeting with Barack Obama two days after media reports of suspicions regarding the retirement residence came up.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]