Lee Myuang Bak, President of South Korea, was inaugurated into office on February 25, 2008.

Less than two weeks later, Lee is involved in a corruption scandal involving electronic giant Samsung.

From the IHT:

A corruption scandal at Samsung spread to the government of the new South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak, on Wednesday as a group of Roman Catholic priests accused his choice for intelligence chief and his top anti-corruption aide of receiving bribes from the business conglomerate.Although both Samsung and Lee’s office vehemently denied them, the allegations deepened political difficulties for Lee, who was sworn in last month. South Koreans elected Lee in the hope that he could revive the slowing economy, but the business executive-turned-politician has been dogged by accusations that he and some of his aides lacked high ethical standards.

Three of Lee’s cabinet appointees have already been forced to resign amid suspicions of corruption. The allegations leveled Wednesday by a respected group of Catholic priests and a whistle-blowing former Samsung lawyer dealt a further blow to the reputation of Lee’s government.

The black market in South Korea is listed at $14.2 billion.