Lee first became publicly known when he served as Hyundai
Construction CEO from the late 1970s to the early 90s, the
culmination of a meteoric rise from rank-and-file employee to top
job at one of the country's biggest companies in just 11 years.

Lee entered politics in 1992 when he was elected to the National Assembly. He was reelected four years later but gave up the seat in 1998 to run in the Seoul mayoral election. Even if he had not quit, he would have lost the seat anyway because two months later he was convicted on charges of spending more than the legal limit on his campaign.

For the following couple of years, Lee stayed out of politics, having been barred from running for public office due to the conviction. His right to stand in elections was reinstated by a presidential pardon in 2000, and he came back as mayor of Seoul in 2002.

While in office, Lee gained popularity from pushing ahead with
such signature projects as restoring the Cheonggye Stream running
through the center of Seoul and overhauling the public
transportation system to enable bus-subway transfers free of charge
or at a much lower cost.

Riding that wave of popularity, he ran for president in 2007 and won an easy victory, garnering 49 percent of the vote against the runner-up's 26 percent, amid expectations that he would help turn the country's struggling economy around.

His leadership, however, took a battering just months after he entered office in 2008, when massive numbers of people took to the
streets in a monthslong protest at his decision to resume imports
of American beef despite concerns about mad cow disease.

Regardless of whether mad cow fears were scientifically proven or not, the case led to Lee's gaining an image as a leader who cared not about ordinary people but only about the rich and powerful. That perception deepened as income inequalities grew amid a global economic downturn.

Another blow to Lee's leadership was the suicide of his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun. 

Roh jumped to his death from a cliff behind his rural retirement home after undergoing corruption questioning by prosecutors. Supporters blamed Lee for humiliating his predecessor with an investigation that led to his suicide.

Corruption suspicions had dogged Lee even before his election as president.

A high-profile stock manipulation case involving one of Lee's business partners, Kim Kyung-joon, is typical of these suspicions.

Kim, head of investment firm BBK, was convicted of pocketing millions of dollars in ill-gotten profits from the manipulation.

Lee had been alleged to be the real owner of BBK, but a prosecution
investigation at the time found no evidence backing up the allegations.

One of the biggest investors in BBK was DAS, an auto parts firm
headed by one of Lee's older brothers. It is widely suspected that

Lee is the real owner of DAS and used the company to create slush
funds. He is also accused of using his presidential powers to help
DAS recover the lost investment from Kim.

As well as the suspicions involving DAS, Lee is facing a slew of charges that include ordering presidential aides to receive illicit money from the state intelligence agency's off-book funds.

Key aides of his have already been arrested over the charges. Lee has denounced the investigation as political retaliation by the administration of President Moon Jae-in over the death of former President Roh. Lee's associates have claimed that the government of President Moon, a key Roh ally who served as Roh's chief of staff, is trying to force the same humiliation back on Lee. (Yonhap)