GNP Wants To Investigate Cheon Wa Dae and National Tax Service

Regarding the investigation on media firms by Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) and National Tax Service (NTS), the Grand National Party (GNP)’s `Special Committee to Preserve Freedom of Press` (Chair Park Kwan-Yong) prepared a plan for the parliamentary investigation in which the Cheon Wa Dae Secretaries Office, Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT), NTX, KFTC, and the Public Prosecutor Office are all included.

The special committee provisionally selected Minister of Secretariat Han Kwang-Ok, Minister of the MCT Kim Han-Kil, Chairman of Government Information Agency Oh Hong-Gun, Commissioner of the NTS Ahn Jung-Nam, Chairman of KFTC Lee Nam-Kee, Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and Public Prosecutor General Shin Seung-Nam as witnesses.

Jang Kwang-Kun, the senior vice spokesman of GNP, said, ``Although the Millenium Democratic Party (MDP) declines the parliament investigation, our party will investigate.``

He also commented, `` We are suspicious that the media tax audit is to arrange the conservative media firms before the North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il’s return visit to Seoul. But this kind of attempt will not be successful.``

To this, Jeon Yong-Hak, the spokesman of the MDP said, ``What the GNP defined on the tax audit against the media firms as `a prearrangement for the Kim Jong-Il’s return visit` is a far-fetched reasoning. They exposed their intention of temporizing the public opinion by splitting the public opinion.``

On his official comment, he said, ``If the GNP and its head Lee Hoi-Chan do not want to overturn our country, they must stop playing with fire that may imperil the country.``

Song In-Soo issong@donga.com