That year, Lee participated in student demonstrations against President Park Chung Hee's Seoul-Tokyo Talks, taking issue with Japanese restitution for the colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

At that time, the amount of orders received by the Korean construction company exceeded US$10 billion, which contributed to overcoming the national crisis resulting from the oil shock.

[38] However, in August 2007, the prosecutors said in the interim announcement, "We do suspect Lee's brother's claim over the land in Dogok-dong, but have failed to verify the real owner of the asset.

[41] Lee's stated goals were expressed in the "747 Plan" and included: 7% annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP), US$40,000 per capita, and transforming Korea into the world's seventh largest economy.

[48] Specifically, Lee declared that he would pursue a campaign of "global diplomacy" and seek further cooperative exchanges with regional neighbors Japan, China, and Russia.

[52] U.S. President George W. Bush and Lee also discussed the ratification of the South Korea–United States Free Trade Agreement or KORUS FTA, which faced opposition from legislators in both countries.

The protests continued for more than two months, and the original purpose of the candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports was replaced by others, such as opposition to the privatization of public companies, education policy, and construction of the canal.

Signs of a strengthening economy and a landmark $40 billion deal won by a Korean consortium to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates boosted Lee's popularity.

[64] Prior to assuming the presidency, Lee's transition team announced it would implement a nationwide English-immersion program to provide students with the language tools necessary to be successful in a highly globalized world.

The government hoped to be a bridge between rich and poor countries in fighting global warming by setting itself goals for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved by 2020.

[71] Oh Geon-ho (오건호), the head of the Public Policy Institute for People, criticized parts of Mbnomics as "over-financing big private companies" and "worsening the fiscal state of the country".

[78] If successful, Lee maintained that his plan, which would include dredging and other measures to improve Korea's waterways, would decrease water pollution, and bring economic benefits to local communities.

"[24] At a special conference held on 19 June 2008, President Lee announced that he would drop the Grand Canal project if the public opposed the idea, and the premier confirmed this statement on 8 September 2008.

Although, former president Lee claimed that the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project was Eco-friendly, its results face severe criticism from environmental experts both inside and outside of the government.

[80] The algae known to kill eco system of a river proliferated during summer season for many years and experts suspect it is because of weirs that slow or stop water flow.

[83] Moreover, Lee's administration increased the welfare budget by 9% to help the poorest maintain the living and middle class's stability, and pursued many more policies for the benefit of the public than the former government.

Three appointees resigned amid suspicions of corruption, and his top intelligence chief and anticorruption aide faced accusations that they received bribes from The Samsung Group.

In addition, Lee gave Prime Minister Han Seung-soo another chance in the belief that no proper working conditions had been provided for the cabinet due to many pending issues since the inauguration of the new administration.

[91] During a press conference, the two leaders expressed hope that North Korea would disclose the details of their nuclear weapons program, and pledged their commitment to resolve the issue through the multilateral six-party talks.

Obama and Lee agreed on a need "for a stern, united response from the international community" in light of North Korea's efforts toward a threatened satellite launch.

Ten days after the deal was formally signed, MBC's current affairs program PD Note aired a multi-part episode titled "U.S. beef, is it safe from mad cow disease?"

[100][101] MBC further devoted 15 out of 25 other news slots to publicizing the issue showing images of downer cows from England and U.S., and reporting information such as claiming that variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) is easily transmittable through methods including blood transfusions, eating instant noodles containing beef products and using cosmetics made with cow-derived collagen.

[100] In an interview, Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun said that the policy would be pursued "with the maximum prudence, as it will take time for the U.S. to grasp the situation in Korea and gather opinions inside the industry."

[108][109][23][110][111] The workers were upset at Lee for "having defiled the DPRK's supreme dignity when all the fellow countrymen were celebrating the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il-sung.

In a historic first, South Korea became the first non-G8 country to take the chairmanship of the forum, and in Toronto, President Lee rallied support for his proposal on creating global financial safety nets and addressing development issues.

[122] President Lee also held bilateral summits with the leaders of the United States, Japan, and People's Republic of China to discuss North Korean affairs.

[123] President Lee succeeded in bringing the Cheonan incident to the forefront in the Chair's Statement for the Asia-Europe Meeting in 2010 at Brussels, drawing member nation support for the South Korean government's stance on North Korea's nuclear issue and stability in Northeast Asia.

[140] The spokesperson of the Democratic Party, Lee Yong-seop (이용섭), said that the presidential family's current residence was evading tax by declaring parts of the building for commercial purposes.

[142] Lee Sang-deuk himself also served 14 months prison time for taking bribes from Solomon Supreme Prosecutors for extorting funds for the Four Major Rivers Project.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee of embezzling 24.6 billion won ($21.7 million) from a company he owned; taking bribes from Samsung, one of his spy chiefs and a former lawmaker; causing a loss to state coffer; and committing other crimes.