President Kim Should Dispel Suspicion over his Winning of Nobel Prize

The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) commenced an all-out offensive against President Kim Dae-jung with the allegation that he lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize, which was sparked off when documents made by businessman and former presidential aid Choi Kyu-sun were revealed. At a party meeting for election strategies, GNP leader Seo Chung-won said, “It is a shame. There is talk that campaigns to return the prize should be waged.”

GNP spokesman Nam Kyung-pil insisted, “Considering a lot of plans in Mr. Choi’s documents were carried out, the allegation that the inter-Korean summit meeting was part of the plan for President Kim to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize should be true. President Kim is the only person to clarify the whole plan related to the prize.”

Park Jie-won, presidential chief of staff, related that at that time we did not have any relationship with Mr. Choi. The documents seems to have been made of his own will and are not related to us.”

He added, “It is really regrettable to damage the authority of the prize won by President Kim with the recognition of the international community and the approval of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”

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