President Roh, "No Legal Exception for Song’s Case"

Regarding the case of German-residing dissident scholar Song Du-yul, President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday, “Song should be investigated under Korean law, and he also should be punished in case of any illegal actions in principle.” Roh also assured that he believed the prosecutors will handle the case appropriately.

President Roh mentioned in a press conference in Chunchukwan (a pressroom in Cheongwadae), “Our society is mature enough to form a mechanism of public opinion, and I also believe that the prosecution has at least a certain degree of judgment.”

But he said, “I am somewhat surprised to see there are more unfavorable facts (for Song) than I previously thought, and therefore I feel uncomfortable that this may be used as ideological controversy.” He also pointed out, “It is undesirable to raise a political offense using Professor Song’s case.”

“Many Koreans including Song have been produced under the system of a divided country, and we should not be happy only to catch them tripping.”, President Roh added. “The way how we deal with these problems will eventually reveals our Nation’s maturity.“

Roh also said, “I have nothing to do with Song’s entrance into the country, but I will just stay still against such situation of shaking President on this issue, even if I am not involved at all.” He added, “I will leave all to the prosecution.”

On the issue of more troop dispatch to Iraq, President Roh remarked, “The biggest concern lies in an unexpected scenario when the six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear issue doesn’t take place nor does the North changes its mind to do something with nuclear weapons or missiles regardless of our decision for dispatching troops, which may bring us a critical situation.” He added, “We cannot detect such signs at the moment, but we are required to proceed with a detailed investigation and research in preparation for a possible crisis.”

President Roh also mentioned, “The dispatch issue, however, is not linked to economic benefits, nor the replacement of U.S.Army in Korea and North Korean nuclear problem.” He explained that the decision for dispatching may well take time with regards to the result of site research in Iraq, United Nations’ resolution and many other things. “

As for the fluctuation of real estate prices, Roh asserted that he is determined to stabilize the bubbled real estate prices, adding that, “More influential measures will be executed any time when needed.” He stressed, “Blocking speculations in long-term on the real estates particularly in Kangnam district, Seoul, will give access to stabilize the inflated prices over the nation.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com