Rival Parties Start Renegotiation over Special Prosecutor Law

Floor leaders of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) are scheduled to meet on Monday to enter into renegotiations over a slight revision of the law on the appointment of an independent counsel for the special probe into the Kim Dae-jung government’s involvement in Hyundai’s secret payment to the North right before the 2000 inter-Korean summit. However, difficulties are expected as the two rival parties have huge differences on the scope of the special prosecutor’s investigation into the process by which the money was transferred to Pyongyang and the announcement of the results during the probe itself.

"Before President Roh Moo-hyun signed the bill, the two parties agreed that the North and bank accounts in the country be excluded from the scope of the investigation," said MDP Secretary General Lee Sang-soo at a news conference on Sunday.

"According to the agreement reached, the words `inter-Korean summit` will be eliminated from the title of the law; the period of the special probe will be reduced to 90 to 100 days; and a safety provision will likely be inserted so those who disclose confidential information will be punished," he said.

"President Roh, however, could be more flexible in the remittance channel in South Korea," Mr. Lee said. "Once the special prosecutor’s bill is passed, there will not be nitpicking." His remarks suggest that the MDP is likely to participate in the renegotiations with a more flexible attitude.

Earlier the leadership of the MDP including MDP leader Chung Dai-chul, Secretary General Lee Sang-soo and Kim Won-ki had a breakfast meeting at a restaurant in downtown Seoul on Saturday morning and took the position that the special prosecutor’s probe be conducted in a limited manner considering inter-Korean relations and the provision allowing for a single announcement of results in the middle of the probe which will be eliminated.

However, GNP spokesperson Park Jong-hee retorted: "The political proposal of not announcing the results of the probe into remittance procedures which could damage relations between the two Koreas is understandable. But excluding the transfer procedure from the probe in the first place could violate the special prosecutor’s investigative rights." Meanwhile, he expects that the renegotiations can proceed without problems when it comes to the insertion of a safety provision for the punishment of those who disclosed confidential information; not disclosing North Korean names and North Korean bank accounts involved; and the shortening of the period of the probe to 100 days (first investigation for 70 days).

Sung-Won Park Jong-Hoon Lee swpark@donga.com taylor55@donga.com