Interpellation Embroiled in Political Strife

In the run-up to the December presidential election, political parties are turning the National Assembly into a political battleground tainted with slandering and defamation.

In the Assembly’s interpellation session, Oct. 10, setting aside the job of inquiry, lawmakers from the majority Grand National Party (GNP) were engaged in raising suspicions over the Kim Dae-jung government’s alleged corruption, and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) in revealing the alleged slush fund of the GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang. There is a case for reform of the current crippled operation of the National Assembly among some lawmakers as well as civic groups.

In the interpellation session, lawmaker Chon Gap-gil of the MDP argued that just before the 1997 presidential election, the wife of lawmaker Lee Hoi-chang received money amounting to tens of billions of won from Kim Byeong-ryang, who was engaged in the Bucheon religious village redevelopment scandal, and officials of Sion School. And he added that Han In-ok, Rep. Lee’s wife, is Mr. Kim’s wife’s in-law.

Rep. Song Seok-chan denounced the GNP presidential candidate for engaging in real estate speculation and taking the lead in oppressing the freedom of the press by sentencing the president of Minjok Ilbo to death. He even criticized that Mr. Lee’s father was the puppet of the colonial Japan.

The GNP lawmaker Lee Jae-oh said, “The Kim Dae-jung government offered money to the North in exchange for the historic inter-Korean summit meeting in June 2000, for which President Kim was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. To offset the 400 million dollars given to Pyongyang, Hyundai Merchant Marine sold its car carrier division to a Norwegian and Swedish joint venture company. About 300 billion won out of the money Hyundai got from the deal was used for the backdoor deal with the North.”

Rep. Um Ho-sung of the GNP called for an investigation of his passport, saying that Kim Han-jeong, a senior official at the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae, visited Norway on several occasions.

In response, the GNP denied the allegation that Ms. Han In-ok and the wife of Kim Byung-ryang are relatives by marriage. Meanwile, Kim Han-jeong retorted that he visited Norway only twice as a public official when he attended the Nobel prize award ceremony for President Kim and he participated in another prize-awarding ceremony just before that.

For the harsh accusations between the GNP and the MDP, lawmaker Cho Soon-hyung said, “With presidential election just few months away, both parties are now waging the life and death struggle for disclosing everything. That runs counter to the intent of the interpellation.”

Rep. Park Han-gi of the GNP also said, “It is like playground where election campaigns take place, or battlefield, rather than a interpellation session.” He added the system should be changed, so that lawmakers submit questionnaires to the government and receive the answers before the session and just ask extra questions during the session.

Young-Chan Yoon yyc11@donga.com