Former President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday broke his silence and castigated President Moon Jae-in's sweeping campaign to address the alleged misdeeds of former conservative governments.

In his first public reaction to a raft of investigations into his associates, Lee warned such a move would hurt national interests and end in failure.

"I am watching these events unfolding in the name of eliminating accumulated ills surrounding the former governments, when the security situation is grave and people's livelihoods are difficult," Lee, who led the country from 2008-2013, wrote on Facebook.
 
"Such a retrogressive attempt would not only compromise national interests, but also end in failure," he added.

In recent months, the spy agency, state auditors and prosecution have carried out investigations into politically charged cases under the two preceding governments, including the spy agency's purported election interference and blacklisting of cultural figures deemed critical of the conservative governments.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, then in power, views these probes as political retribution to discredit the conservative bloc. In a tit-for-tat move, it has called for a special probe into a corruption scandal involving former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. (Yonhap)