Cheong Wa Dae Argues That The Investigation Was Farfetched

The prosecution’s investigation revealed that President Roh Moo-hyun was, in fact, implicated in the corrupt activities of his aides regarding the presidential campaign slush fund. This ignited demands by the opposition parties to enforce the investigation that includes a direct investigation of the president and his possible resignation.

Cheong Wa Dae officials replied by saying, “the Grand National Party (GNP) should stop the power-play against the president,” and protested that “the investigation had been far-fetched and not impartial.”

GNP chairman Choe Byung-ryul said during its party meeting that, “Now President Roh cannot hold his face up to the people,” and requested the president “to conform to the direct prosecution questioning, apologize to the people and ask for the nation’s forgiveness.”

Spokesman for the GNP party, Park Jin, also said that, “Roh should stop the attempts to blackmail the prosecution through his aides and decide upon his further political future.”

Chough Soon-hyung, chairman of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), also said that, “the president has violated an actual law” and requested an immediate investigation, adding that, “since the president himself had previously agreed to the prosecution investigation, there is no need to form a special counsel.”

The MDP lawmaker Choo Mi-ae assessed the case to be “a critical situation, where the current president was involved in illegal fund-raising,” and urged that the law should decide whether the president was an actual accomplice in the case. “The only step left for Roh to take is to confess his wrongdoings and to face impeachment,” she added.

Lee Byung-wan, the presidential senior secretary, announced during the daily briefing session that, “the president has no means to evade his responsibilities,” and criticized the opposite parties’ attacks saying, “As much as it is important to reveal the truth, excessive political aggressiveness can have a negative effect on the smooth conduct of state affairs.”

The Chief Secretary of Civil Affairs, Moon Jae-in, also made separate remarks, saying “some of the investigation procedures were too focused on the current public opinion, leading the prosecution to conduct an unfair investigation.”

Roh will announce his future political status including his proposal to hold a national vote of confidence next February, when the special counsel investigation is expected to end.

Kim Jin-heung, an individual counsel in charge of the case, reported December 30 that, “Decisions will be made upon further investigation, but we are opening up a possibility of summoning the president for a direct investigation.”