[Editorial] MDP Has Will to Completely Disclose Its Campaign Funds?

Yesterday President Roh Moo-hyun took a step further by suggesting that investigative institutions investigate and verify all campaign funds in last year`s presidential election, from his proposal on July 15 of the disclosure of both the ruling and opposition parties through his chief of staff Moon Hee-sang. However, there is still room for misconception and doubt.

The ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP)`s passive attitude toward its revealing of campaign funds arises doubts. The party was reluctant to do so when the president proposed disclosing campaign funds through his chief of staff, but changed its course of action only after the president`s news conference was held. Against this backdrop, people have doubts that the president`s proposal at the news conference could bear tangible results and that the MDP really has a strong willing to disclose all the details of its campaign expenses. Some in political circles see the MDP`s change as an attempt to tide over the current crisis, sparked by the "Goodmorning City" scandal.

In the same context, some interpret president Roh`s proposal of the disclosure of all campaign funds as the ruling camp`s intention to roughly show its campaign funds on the pretext of the refusal of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP). In fact, it is not important who should come clean first. However, the ruling party should do first since the MDP chairman sparked the current dispute.

The MDP has announced that it would disclose the campaign funds collected and used after its election preparation committee was established. If Mr. Roh`s proposal is to be persuasive to opposition parties, the MDP should disclose all the details of its funds after its official candidate was chosen. If there were illegal things related to campaign funds, the party should make an apology and express a strong will for political reform to the Nation. The MDP`s expression of apology and willingness for political reform should precede investigative institutions` probe and the MDP`s call for the GNP`s disclosure.

Controversy over punishment for corruption and whether to give exemption from responsibility should be resolved after gathering public opinion. If not, the issue would continue to dog the political world. Moreover, businesses that donated campaign funds should be free from pressure of their voluntary disclosure. It is very foolish of political circles to embroil companies into the current dispute, having a negative impact on the already sagging economy. Now is the time for the political world to make its own decision for the resolution the campaign fund issue in a right way.