President Roh Should Confess and Apologize Over the Election Campaign Funds

The Grand National Party and the Millennium Democratic Party started to demand for President Roh Moo-hyun`s apology and confession on October 31, saying, "It`s time for the president to apologize", following the revelation that Lee Hoi-chang, the former GNP chairman, apologized on behalf of his party for accepting a huge amount of illegal campaign funds from SK Group before the presidential election.

The MDP, in particular, urged the Blue House to unveil how much money was spent for the presidential campaign and where it finally went, taking the opportunity to criticize Uri Party Rep. Lee Sang-soo, who managed presidential campaign funds in Roh Moo-hyun`s campaign team and acknowledged he received an extra four billion won from companies not including the five conglomerates.

"The funds flowed into GNP before unifying the candidates, and after that, into Roh`s camp," said the MDP spokesman Kim Sung-soon in a statement, adding, "Rep. Lee is speaking contradictorily and is avoiding telling the truth, so President Roh Moo-hyun should find the full story of the details of illicit funds, final destination, and the congratulatory money, and he should apologize. “

Emergency committee chairman, Chough Soon-hyung also insisted that the president should apologize and unveil the details and inspect the final destination of the election funds.

Regarding the suspicion of the president`s close aides` scandals, the GNP urged the president to “get out for the investigation of special prosecutors."

"President Roh should break the cowardly silence and apologize and take full responsibility," said the GNP spokeswoman Kim Young-sun through the statement, and added Roh Moo-hyun should fully accept the special prosecutor`s probe and not to use tricks and taking advantage of prosecutor in order to avoid impeachment.

A high-ranking Blue House official said, "We didn`t have any internal discussion on the president`s apology. We have nothing to comment at the present."

"GNP chairman Choe Byung-yul insisted on introducing the unlimited special prosecutors to investigate election campaign funds, but why did GNP enumerate the president`s close aides` scandals," a key Blue House official criticized.