``Name Claiming`` Builds up Strong Confrontation between Rival Parties

A political stir caused by the Grand National Party (GNP) revealing real names is spreading. The GNP named a Rep. of the New Millennium Democratic Party (NMDP) Kim Hong-Il, Kwon Roh-Kap, a former Supreme Council member of the NMDP, and Jeong Hak-Mo, the president of a Sports Group, as the major suspects of the `Lee Yong-Ho gate`.

The GNP urged the prosecution`s immediate investigation on the three people yesterday. The NMDP called to account the leaking route of the report that a GNP Pep. Yoo Seung-Keun revealed a parliamentary interpellation session on Oct. 19th. The NMDP claimed, ``The report, an intelligence itinerary report on Rep. Kim, was composed by a policeman by the request of the GNP.``

While the NMDP raised the issue of the limit of Rep.`s immunity privileges, the GNP refuted it as a trans-constitutional thinking.

▼ Charge on the leaking of the police intelligence report = On the itinerary report, the NMDP spokesman Jeon Yong-Hak said, ``The GNP falsely manipulated a simple police intelligence report as if our party members are related to the `Lee Yong-Ho gate` with the intention of political attack.`` He also urged, ``The prosecution should thoroughly investigate the related people on the report leaking and the wire-pullers.``

But, the GNP spokesman Kwon Chul-Hyun insisted, ``After receiving a report that Rep. Kim met Yeo Un-Hwan in Jeju Island in the beginning of Aug., the GNP, through the Jeju provincial chapter, asked police to confirm the report, and a police sergeant named Lim showed an intelligence report in order to confirm the falsity of the report we received.``

▼ Raising an additional doubt = Spokesman Kwon said, ``The president Jeong denied, last month, that he did not know Mr. Yeo, but he changed his mind by saying that `I have known him for a long time` in the news conference on Oct. 19th.``

Kwon continued, ``Although Rep. Kim said that he met Mr. Yeo by chance through the introduction of president Jeong, this was a too strange for mere chance. President Kim Dae-Jung should clear all the suspicions by investigating his son.``

Responding to this, the NMDP said, ``Suspicions raised by spokesman Kwon were already proven as false. The NMDP filed a libel suit against Rep. Yoo and Ahn Kyoug-Ryul of the GNP.``

▼ Dispute on the limit of immunity privileges = Prosecutor General Shin Seung-Nam mentioned the limit of the lawmakers` privilege of immunity on 19th. Han Kwang-Ok, chairman of the NMDP, said, ``The rival parties should discuss together the Assembly`s systematic problems that were revealed during the Assembly`s interpellation sessions, including the abuse of lawmakers` immunity privileges, at the Assembly`s Political Reform Committee.`` in a news conference, yesterday.

The GNP, however, flatly rejected saying that ``it is a anti-democratic thinking in order to conceal the illegality and corruption of the government.``

Moon Chul fullmoon@donga.com