Roh Hinted on Rejecting Special Prosecution

Concerning a special prosecution bill for his close aides, President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday said, “Since the former presidential secretary Choi Do-sul’s case is actively under investigation by the prosecutors, it is advisable for a special prosecution not to get involved in the ongoing situation at least until the end of the investigation.” He added that one could request for a re-consideration in case of a need for time adjustment.

President Roh said in a joint conference with a group of press from Daejon and Choongnam Province at the Blue House, premising,“If there is no conflict of investigation between the prosecution and special prosecutors, I won’t have any intention to turn down the special prosecution itself.”

The remark of President Roh can be interpreted to be that he will have no choice but to put a veto on the proposal if the prosecution’s investigation doesn’t wrap up by November 25, the date on which the decision on adopting special prosecution bill should be made.

As for additional troop dispatch to Iraq, President Roh reaffirmed there would be room to compromise over sending two different functions of troops. Roh said that a decision on dispatching either small-sized, non-combatant troops for rehabilitation support under the protection of U.S. Army, or independent troops that are thoroughly responsible for a designated area in Iraq, has nothing to do with the question of choosing solely one part, which implies that the dispatched troops are likely to function in both the maintenance of security and rehabilitation support.

“The government has been thinking of sending small-sized and non-combatant soldiers to Iraq for the purpose of assisting the Iraqi people, whereas the United States requested us to take full responsibilities in certain areas of Iraq,” President Roh added.

Regarding a national referendum for the public vote of confidence, Roh said, “Given that the investigation on presidential campaign funds is coming up to the surface and that on the presidential aides has been brought into focus, I will take appropriate measures as soon as the ongoing critical searches are completed.” He said that it seems to be difficult to maintain his previous suggestion of executing a national referendum before or after December 15, indicating that assessment of confidence is likely to be postponed after the completion of presidential campaign funds investigation.

While mentioning about the agitated real estate market, President Roh Moo-hyun affirmed that he will drive for changing the system which can thoroughly prevent real estate speculators from making a big money. Roh stressed, “No one will be able to make a fortune through speculations on real estate from now on.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com