[Editorial] No Political Settlement for Issue of Secret Payment to N.K.

People felt restless during the Lunar New Year holidays. It was in part because they felt betrayed and despondent for the incumbent government having told lies repeatedly that it didn’t make a secret remittance of an enormous 223.5 billion won. They may get angrier at the government’s lies than the secret payment to the North itself.

Thus, it is reasonable for the government to lay bare the whole truth and ask for the public’s forgiveness.

President Kim Dae-jung, however, drew a line in advance saying, "Although Hyundai Merchant Marine’s money was used to support Pyongyang, a judicial judgment for it is not appropriate." He is demanding that it should be understood as an act in the process of ruling. However, the public’s response is that now the issue cannot be glossed over.

Likewise, it is difficult to understand the proposal of Moon Hee-sang, President-elect Roh’s Cheong Wa Dae chief of staff, to solve this issue politically. He is arguing that once outgoing President Kim has acknowledged the secret remittance to the North, that should be papered over based on agreement between the ruling and opposition camps, considering a possible impact on inter-Korean relations. But his argument is a far cry from public sentiment.

At present, people want to know the whole truth surrounding the secret payment to the North. Whether this constitutes an act of ruling by the president or what impact it will have on the two Koreas’ relations should be determined after we get at the root of the issue. However, the incumbent president says the prosecution’s investigation should not be conducted, and the new presidential chief of staff is proposing political settlement. The public is not likely at all to accept these proposals. Rather, they could add to suspicions of backroom dealing between Kim and Roh.

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun has been maintained the position that this will be solved in principle through prosecution investigations without any political consideration. His position should be delivered on. Only so, the new government can build new inter-Korean relations based on public consensus. The issue regarding the secret remittance cannot be settled politically.