All-out effort to revive economy, a must: Kim states at press conf.

Noting that he has not yet looked ahead to the next presidential election, President Kim Dae-Jung said Thursday, ¡°Now is the time for all of us to concentrate on the economic recovery and stabilize politics and society.¡± In his New Year's news conference at Cheong Wa Dae for both the local and foreign press, the President said, ¡°It is a criminal act to misappropriate the budget of the Agency for National Security Planning, whose role is to crack down on communists. Therefore, (the prosecution) is now investigating a crime in which the state budget was used as political funds,¡± the President said. On the recent defection of four ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) lawmakers to the splinter United Liberal Democrats (ULD), Kim said, ¡°It is an unprecedented event. I will humbly acknowledge the public¡¯s criticism. But that of the opposition party¡¯s is not right.¡±

Referring to the opposition Grand National Party¡¯s (GNP) request for an investigation into his alleged slush fund, the President flatly rejected it, saying, ¡°The previous administration investigated suspicions that I had amassed a slush fund for five years and once again probed these allegations during the presidential election (in 1997), but nothing has been disclosed.¡± ¡°Bringing up slush funds again now is just dredging up an old, unfounded story,¡± he said. Commenting on ways to coordinate North Korea policies with the incoming Bush administration, which is expected to take a hawkish stance, President Kim said, ¡°We will cope with the situation through full discussions with the U.S., and continue to coordinate among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.¡± ¡°I hope to meet the new U.S. president in the near future to discuss the matter,¡± he said.

As for the relations with the opposition party, President Kim said, ¡°I¡¯d like to restore amicable ties and get along with the opposition party. But in order to do this, I think we have to adopt of principle of ¡®co-survival¡¯ and try to respect each other¡¯s positions.¡± ¡°I hope the ruling party will be able to cooperate with the opposition party from a pan-national viewpoint and compete in the development of policies,¡± he said. "That way, the president will have only to manage the next presidential election in a fair and just manner.¡± Asked about the possibility that the prosecution's investigation of the top intelligence agency¡¯s alleged financing of two of the GNP's past election campaigns may spread to GNP president Lee Hoi-Chang and former president Kim Young-Sam, President Kim said, ¡°The case is now being investigated by the prosecution. So, it is not right even for the President to talk about.¡±

¢¸ For a Q&A excerpt, see Today's Focus