[Editorial] Mr. President, Time to Clean out Your Inner Circle

Scandals involving President Roh`s family members is hitting them wave after wave. The Roh administration took office about 100 days ago and in short, it is still in its youth. Looking at the bribery scandals, however, we think of the crooked later days of the former Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae Jung administrations. Ironically, the Blue House blames the press for its harsh treatment of the scandals. The press, however, is there and takes meaning when it can check and balance power. That is why it exists. Therefore, there is no room for going easy on the scandals of the inner power circle, and no one should expect it to do so.

Rather, President Roh`s and his inner circle`s silence has amplified them. It was alleged that Lee Kee-myong, former chairman of President Roh`s supporters, paid for Roh`s brother Gun-pyong to lift the provisional seizure on the Gun-pyong`s land. Some contended that the money was left over from the secret campaign fund of Roh. But Lee has not made any persuasive explanations. Actually, Lee has made a couple of statements. Each statement, however, has contradicted the others, escalating, rather than resolving, suspicions.

The court dismissed the motion for the arrest warrant on Ahn Hee-chung, one of the most powerful brains of President Roh. The court believed that Ahn was just a courier of a 390-million bribe. The DA`s office should launch another investigation to find out for whom Ahn worked and where the money went. But the prosecution would not budge at all.

One reason might lie in the Constitution, which prohibits any investigative agency from indicting the President. It should be President Roh who breaks the silence and tells the truth. The Blue House explained that the case was pending and that was why he could not make any comment on it. But few buy into this explanation. The best way to relieve political burdens is to clearly show where the money was spent.

If a new administration hopes for "smooth navigation" down the road, it should resolve, legally and politically, all the scandals involving its inner circle. President Roh may be able to learn a lesson or two from previous administrations. If Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young-sam had let the press put their sons` scandals under the spotlight, they would not have been embarrassed as much as they were at the end of their terms.