Warrant issued for South Korean president's brother

A court issued an arrest warrant late Tuesday for the elder brother of South Korea's president on bribery allegations, a major embarrassment to the ruling party in a presidential election year.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant hours after enraged protesters threw eggs at Lee Sang-deuk, grabbing his tie and jostling him as he entered the court for questioning.

A court official declined to provide further details, including his name or when Lee might be arrested, citing court procedures. Prosecutors have accused the former lawmaker of taking half a million dollars in bribes from two detained bankers with the intent of using his influence to help the bankers avoid punishment.

Lee wasn't directly hit by any of the eggs, but some yolk could be seen on his shoulder. He didn't speak to a swarm of reporters gathered at the court, shaking off the protesters and media mobbing him before walking through a security checkpoint.

The protesters, many of them middle-aged women, said they'd lost money after the government suspended the troubled savings banks Lee is accused of taking bribes from.

President Lee Myung-bak ends his single, five-year presidential term early next year. Elections for the next president are in December.