Suspicion over Money Offered For President Roh’s Favor

The National Assembly April.7 held an interpellation session in which Prime Minister Goh Kun and other government cabinet ministers were questioned on major political issues, such as President Roh’s views on the press, his government’s media polices, and a bribery scandal concerning Nara Investment Banking Corp.

Opposition Grand National Party (GNP)’s lawmaker Nam Kyung-pil said, “While President Roh has expressed his favorable views on broadcasting outlets and Internet service providers, he insisted he had been reviled by a major daily newspapers. Such biased views on the media are dangerous.” He also pointed out that the president criticized major newspaper companies for exercising monopoly power, but he didn’t seem to care about monopoly practices by domestic broadcasting networks.

Prime Minister Goh was asked about how he thinks about the President’s remark that the press is an unrestrained dangerous power. The Prime Minister replied, “The control of the press should be done by members of society, including readers and viewers, and the market principle.”

He added, “The President’s remark should be interpreted that although the power of the government is checked by the National Assembly, the press doesn’t have such a system to restrain abuses of its power.”

Opposition GNP lawmakers peppered Justice Minister Kang Kum-sil with questions on a bribery case in which President Roh’s closest aides Ahn Hee-jung and Yum Dong-yeon allegedly received 200 million won and 50 million won, respectively, from Nara Investment Banking Corp. in 1999. The opposition lawmakers insisted that if the investment banking company had offered money to ask President Roh’s favor and the president is involved in the case, there should be an investigation by an independent counsel.”

In response, the justice minister retorted, “It is undesirable to reach a premature conclusion based on assumption and presupposition with political consideration. And it is also wrong to mention a probe by a special counsel by relating the President to a case when an investigation by the prosecution into it is underway.

Meanwhile, ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) lawmaker Kang Woon-tae maintained, “A decentralized presidential system, a combination of the presidential system and the parliamentary system, a proportional representative system by electorate, and the adoption of a mixed electorate system composed of a small electorate and a medium and large electorate system should be positively considered.” GNP lawmaker asked the Prime Minister whether he has an intention of asking the President to leave the MDP to maintain political neutrality.

Yong-Gwan Jung Seung-Ryun Kim yongari@donga.com srkim@donga.com