That day Lee made an apology for the scandals of his families, relatives and close confidants, the article said.

However, the apology reluctantly written by him lacked of any repentance.

It is not clear for what he made apology, the article said, adding that though crimes of his elder brother and close confidants have been disclosed, Lee dismissed them as individual corruption. He said it was "regretful ones" and "disappointing."

From the outset of its office, the Lee Myung Bak regime has evaded responsibility for all the crimes committed by his close confidants in such a way whenever they were brought to light. This resulted in such a grave situation as today's, it deplored.

It called for taking measures to thoroughly probe the truth behind scandals.