GNP calls for presidential apologies

Lee Hoi-Chang, head of the Grand National Party (GNP), demanded on Monday that President Kim Dae-Jung, in his capacity as the nation¡¯s president and the head of the ruling Millenium Democratic Party (MDP), make a clear apology for the MDP`s alleged involvement in the mandatory accounting of campaign expenses reported to electoral committees. President Kim must rightly be called to task and take responsibility for the fiasco, Lee said. Lee told a general meeting of GNP parliamentary members held at the National Assembly that in any advanced democracy the president is duly supposed to take upon himself the blame for any breaches involving voting irregularities, abuse of power, partial investigations or attempts to cover up the truth.

Following the meeting, the opposition party members visited the National Election Commission and the Public Prosecutors` Office in two groups to inquire into alleged collusion with the ruling party in the process of examining candidates` expenditure reports and probing into campaign law violations. The GNP, meanwhile, transmitted an open letter of inquiry to Han Kwang-Ok, the Presidential Chief of Staff, raising six questions in connection with suspicions generated by remarks made by Yoon Chul-Sang, ex-deputy secretary general of the ruling party.

The MDP called a meeting of party leaders the same day. They affirmed that Yoon`s statement was a slip of the tongue, calling on the opposition party to discontinue its political offensive based on unfounded allegations. The governing party spokesman, Park Byeong-Seok, declared after the meeting that all affairs need to be debated on the legislative floor and that his party would not react to tactical moves made by the GNP as part of its political smear campaign.