Cheong Wa Dae Questions Roh’s Stance on Record Leakage

Former President Roh Moo-hyun explained the leakage of presidential records on Friday, saying, “We had conversations on this before, and I’ve been waiting for an answer [that they will guarantee access to presidential records].” Following this, the focus of attention was shifted to whether there were talks or political comprehension between the current Cheong Wa Dae crew and former President Roh’s people.

On the same day, former President Roh met with Democratic Party Chair Chung Sye-kyun and other party leaders and said, “Face to face, they say they will talk with us, but they are engaging in secret searches behind my back. I’ll return the copy [of the records] when they make the access and view feasible for me.”

In a telephone conversation with the Dong-A Ilbo, Kim Kyeong-su, secretary to former President Roh, said, “Over the course of the handover we requested the current Cheong Wa Dae crew to allow us access to records but no deal was reached, so we inevitably brought a copy (to Bongha Village).”

The explanation is that former Secretary to the President for General Affairs Chung Sang-moon and Secretary to the President for General Affairs Kim Baek-jun, the work-level contact points from both sides, had primary talks and discussed whether to allow access to records, and that former Presidential Chief of Staff Moon Jae-in again requested the same matter to former Presidential Chief of Staff Yu Woo-ik, but no agreement was reached.

The current Cheong Wa Dae crew also acknowledges that they attempted to clear up the matter unofficially until the controversy was aroused on the setup of an electronic operation system at Bongha Village, and that there had been “undercover” talks between the two sides until recently.

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