President Roh Ready to Undergo Interrogation on the Alleged Slush Fund Cases

President Roh Moo-hyun said Tuesday he would abide by his pledge to quit politics without any referendum on his mandate if his aides were found to have received more than one-tenth of the amount of slush funds that the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) took during last year’s presidential election campaign.

The president said at a special news conference at Cheong Wa Dae, “I remarked in a meeting with leaders of four political parties that I would resign if my aides had collected at least one-tenth of the illicit funds taken by the GNP because I wanted to stress the need for the GNP not to raise groundless suspicions.” However, he added at the special news conference that he would not retract the statement and would abide by his pledge.

However, he went on to say that he was pretty sure that the amount of illegal funds accepted by his aides would not exceed one-tenth of the slush funds the opposition party took last year. He insisted that is why he pledged to step down from his top post and that he did not intend to avoid the current situation by making a bombshell announcement.

Speaking at the press conference, he also said that there would be no sanctuary regarding the illegal fundraising issues and he was ready to accept the special counsel probe investigating the alleged slush funds cases. He also proposed that political parties should cooperate with prosecutors in their investigations and carry out political reforms after disclosing all allegations involving illicit fundraising. The political parties should then be tested in general elections next year.

Roh also said he would seek a national referendum on his mandate sometime after all corruption allegations are uncovered by investigators, although he does not have to run in general elections in April. As the chief executive running the administration, he apologized for the current corruption troubles that his aides have caused.

As for the question of whether he will agree to undergo interrogation on alleged slush fund cases, he said he would not voluntarily undergo questioning in the prosecutors’ office, but he would allow prosecutors to visit Cheong Wa Dae to interrogate him if the prosecutors think it is necessary.

Regarding the proposal he made to give amnesty to politicians who confess their misdeeds, he said it seems unrealistic as the amount of the illicit funds is so tremendous. After successfully completing the current investigations, he will seek national reconciliation and unity to heal the current pains once next year’s general elections are held.

As for the cabinet shakeup around the end of the year, Roh said it would be a minor reshuffle and was not to reprimand ministers for their mistakes.

A spokesman for the GNP, Park Jin, criticized the president’s press conference, saying that the president did not make a sincere apology and kept making excuses about alleged corruption even though his closes aides have been found to be involved in illicit fundraising scandals. The Millennium Democratic Party leader Chough Soon-hyung also criticized the conference, saying the president was irresponsible.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com