GNP Questions President Roh

GNP (Grand National Party) lawmakers in the Unification Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, the National Defense Committee, and the Government Administration and Local Autonomy Committee in the National Assembly attended a public questioning session with President Roh Moo-hyun on July 22, asking him about recent political issues.

The GNP lawmakers asked in the question, “What is the destination of this country led by you while your government’s ideological identity and historical legitimacy are under suspicion?”

They also asked, “Why do you give the reporting system priority over operational performance in relation to the NLL (Northern Limit Line) violation in the West Sea by North Korea?” as well as whether he agreed with the remark that “brigadier generals and major generals cultivated leadership during the military regime era” by lawmaker Kim Hee-seon of the Uri Party.

Afterwards, they asked Roh’s opinion on Uri Party Spokesperson Kim Hyun-mi’s comments that “we have to seriously access the consciousness of military authorities and people who serve there because they made light of the two Koreas’ peace and dealt with it carelessly.”

They also called into question in an interrogative fact-finding committee meeting whether it was appropriate that an official who was a spy interrogated former and present generals in the army, and whether it was appropriate to name a person who was once a spy and a guerilla as a person who tried to democratize this country.

They asked, “Is it possible to manage fair elections when a person like Lyu Ji-dam is a head of an election administration commission?” in relation to his recent remarks in a meeting with Roh where he said, “I guess there are many privileged people who want this government to fail.”

They urged that “Roh should make clear the nation’s ideological identification as the commander-in-chief in front of his people.”

In the meantime, Lee Han-gu of the National Policy Committee said on this day, “I’m worried we are moving into a more and more fearful world as I watch a series of actions such as the Roh government’s reform of the media and the judiciary, and the new establishment of a high-official corruption investigation bureau,” and attacked, saying, “The Roh government is absorbed by moving towards constructing a dictatorial system.”

Myoung-Gun Lee Min-Hyuk Park gun43@donga.com mhpark@donga.com