State prosecutors raided the premier's office Friday£¬ widening investigations into the government's alleged illegal inspection on a civilian who posted a video ridiculing President Lee Myung-bak and his policies two years ago. The purported government probe on a President Lee dissenter has been snowballing into a heated political issue ahead of the July 28 parliamentary by-elections£¬ a race especially critical for Lee's party following its defeat to the liberal opposition party last month.

A team of investigators from the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office raided the ethics bureau of the prime minister's office£¬ which purportedly led the illegal surveillance on Kim Jong-ik£¬ a businessman who posted the video on his blog in September 2008£¬ drawing vast attention from Internet users here

"We have confiscated documents and files that may tell us whether any illicit inspection was conducted on the businessman£¬" an official at the prosecutors' office said£¬ requesting not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. It was the first time for the prime minister's office to face a prosecutorial search

The prosecution launched investigations last week into four ethics officials from the prime minister's office including Lee In-kyu£¬ a member of a little-known fraternity consisting of high-ranking officials from President Lee's southeastern hometown of Pohang. Opposition parties accuse the fraternity "Yeongpohoe" of secretly orchestrating ethics-code violation cases and the illegal inspections into them

Adding to the speculations£¬ the businessman Kim formerly headed an organization of ex-bankers that supported the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun£¬ the immediate predecessor to President Lee who had sharp opinions on the economy£¬ North Korea and other policies. The main opposition Democratic Party demands an independent probe into the alleged political influence of the exclusive body.

Yeongpohoe£¬ established in the late 1980s and consisting of about 100 members£¬ has officially denied the speculations£¬ adding the accused government official is not its member. Both the group and the presidential office have refused to confirm whether President Lee himself belongs to the group. The ruling Grand National Party has dismissed the claims£¬ accusing its rival of attempting to use the issue as a political tool ahead of the elections.