A former close aide of President Lee Myung-bak will be summoned Friday morning for questioning over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal surrounding an ailing savings bank, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Kim Hee-jung resigned earlier this week as a secretary handling the president's personal affairs after allegations emerged that he took bribes from a savings bank chief accused of a massive lobbying campaign to prevent the ailing bank from being shut down.

Kim has denied the allegations but said he wanted to take "moral responsibility."

Kim worked for Lee since 1997 when Lee was a lawmaker. The bribery allegations, if confirmed, would deal another serious blow to the president, who saw an elder brother arrested last week on bribery charges in the savings bank scandal.

(Yonhap News)