South Korea's president has accepted the resignation of his finance and economy minister, caught up in a scandal involving controversial real-estate deals.
Minister Lee Hun-Jai and his wife have been accused of flouting regulations in the course of a series of speculative land sales - deals that earned them $6.6 million.
Mr. Lee, who took office a year ago, denies any wrongdoing and says there was nothing speculative about the real-estate transactions. He says he is stepping down so the scandal will not affect the nation's economy.
President Roh Moo-Hyun accepted the resignation Monday.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.