SEOUL, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Tuesday he will accept Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan's resignation offer.

    Roh made the remarks when he met with Chairman of the governing Uri Party Chung Dong-young Tuesday afternoon, according to Roh's spokesman Kim Man-soo.

    "I will respect the opinion of the ruling Uri Party in favor of the resignation of the prime minister," the president was quoted as saying by Kim.

    Earlier Tuesday, Lee offered resignation over a so-called "golfscandal" to Roh during their meeting shortly after Roh returned from his nine-day African trip.

    Moreover, according to Kim, Roh has ordered his senior secretaries to thoroughly investigate the whole truth of the scandal.

    Who will take place Lee's post will be announced later and Deputy Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will act as prime minister until the president's appointment of Lee's successor, added Kim.

    Lee has been at a center of criticism since earlier this month for he played golf with a group of businessman on March 1 in Busan, when a nationwide strike of railway workers began. The day is also a public holiday to mark a 1919 mass uprising for independence against Japanese colonial rule.

    Even worse, one of Lee's golf partners was found to have criminal records. The businessman, head of a flour mill company, was reportedly ruled by the Fair Trade Commission to pay 3.5 billion won (3.58 million U.S. dollars) in financial penalty for illegal business activities.

    Local media and opposition parties widely raised the possibility the flour businessman was lobbying the prime minister during the golf game to avoid the penalty. The opposition parties all demanded Lee to step down.

    Controversy intensified after the golf game was found involved betting. Three businessmen in Lee's foursome said the amount of money betted was 400,000 won (410 U.S. dollars) and that one of them paid for all the expenses.

    On March 10, the biggest opposition party filed the case to South Korean prosecution, which was reportedly to investigate the allegations in the near future.

    Lee has since made four public apologies for his inconsiderate behavior which caused controversy among local people. But it seemed this time, his apologies did not work.

    An opinion poll showed recently, more than 52.8 percent of the respondents said the prime minister should resign.

    Born on July 10, 1952 in Cheongyang County, South Chungcheong Province, Lee has been elected as lawmaker of the National Assembly for six times.

    Lee took office as the country's prime minister in June 2004. Enditem