According to Uri Party, Rep. Chang`s Alleged Lobbying Is Not A Problem

The Uri Party reached a provisional conclusion yesterday, saying, "There`s presently no legal problem," concerning suspicions over Rep. Chang Bok-shim`s having lobbied for winning the candidacy for proportional representation.

Uri`s fact-finding mission headed by Rep. Cho Bae-sook and Choi Yong-kyu attended the standing central committee meeting this day to report interim investigation findings, stating, "At present, we didn`t find any grounds on which Rep. Chang had distributed money in addition to what the media reported," said Uri`s spokeswoman Kim Hyun-mi.

"We can`t see Rep. Chang’s political donations worth one million won each as illegal, considering the situations under which she gave money, and it is also unreasonable to connect them with the appointments to proportional representation because the information about special party expenses amounting to 15 million won couldn`t be conveyed to the judging committee for proportional representation," said spokeswoman Kim at a briefing.

However, the Uri Party made a conclusion of acquittal on the basis of only Chang`s and the pharmaceutical association official`s statement, which is receiving criticism that it is not based on a thorough investigation. In particular, even though our coverage activities disclosed two candidates for the general election identified by their initials, H and S, received political donations without receipts, the Uri Party announced there was no violation of laws, which is coming under criticism that it may be reflective of an intention to affect the prosecution`s investigation.

The Grand National Party`s Vice-Floor leader Nam Kyung-pil was critical, saying, "Uri is trying to set the guidelines for the prosecution`s investigation with a haphazard conclusion, and the Democratic Labor Party`s senior vice-leader of representatives Shim Sang-jung said, "The prosecution has to inquire into the truth of the matter through a thorough investigation, including tracing bank accounts.”

Yong-Gwan Jung yongari@donga.com