Assembly cautious toward Kim's Nobel award

During the National Assembly Steering Committee session on Wednesday, lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party united to congratulate President Kim Dae-Jung for winning the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize.

Rep. Kim Keun-Tae of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, however, issued a statement calling on the ruling party to adopt a humble attitude in contrast to the opposition. Following a report on the budget program from chief presidential secretary Han Kwang-Ok, Rep. Kim Moo-Sung of the GNP, congratulating the Nobel laureate, said that the presence of the chief presidential secretary as well as senior secretaries at the Assembly committee session attests to the fact that the President thinks highly of the legislature. Reps. Lee Seong-Heun and Lee Byung-Shik of the GNP stressed that President Kim won the prize for his efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, noting that this was the result of the presidential secretaries doing their best to assist the president.

However, Rep. Kim, a supreme council member of the ruling MDP, releasing a press statement, said that there are some cynical views of the Nobel prize victory in some social quarters. He added that whenever he meets with such negative views, he feels sorrowful. Critics contend that the Nobel prize serves no purpose when the national economy is facing difficulty, he disclosed. Though he does not agree with this assessment, the party in charge of state affairs must be modest, he stated. He went on to say that whenever President Kim meets with these critical views, his feelings might be hurt, but that he will hopefully overcome them with a sense of leniency.