NSP diverts budget to fund 185 ruling party candidates: SY Park

Prosecutor-General Park Soon-Yong said Monday that a total of 185 candidates in the 1995 local and 1996 general elections were confirmed to have received about half of their total 115.7 billion won (about $9.1 billion) in campaign funds from the nation¡¯s top intelligence agency.

Park said that the 185 candidates were mostly from the then ruling New Korea Party (NKP), predecessor of the current opposition Grand National Party (GNP), though a handful were from the then opposition National Congress for New Politics (NCNP), now the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

The top prosecutor also said that the 94 billion won provided by the then Agency of National Security Planning (NSP), now the National Intelligence Service (NIS), as campaign money for the general elections in 1996 was put into bank accounts held by Rep. Kang Sam-Jae, former NKP secretary general and chief campaigner.

The NSP drew the campaign funds of 115.7 billion won mostly from the reserves of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, including 900 million won in proceeds from the sale of its former building on Mt. Namsan, Park said.

In a press conference, Park said prosecutors would conduct their ongoing investigation impartially, irrespective of the suspects¡¯ party affiliations, noting that there had been attempts to exploit the case for political purposes.

He said that his office has not yet decided whether to investigate former President Kim Young-Sam, his second son Kim Hyun-Chul, GNP president Lee Hoi-Chang, former senior presidential secretary for political affairs Lee Won-Jong or Rep. Kim Deok-Ryong of the GNP.

He said the issue of whether to question them would depend on the results of the ongoing probe. He also said that the investigation of Rep. Kang was essential, and that if he refuses to comply with a summons, the prosecutor¡¯s office would seek ways to force him to do so.