By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The pro-government and opposition parties agreed Wednesday to seek the appointment of an independent counsel if prosecutors fail to uncover the truth behind a former presidential aide's possible abuse of authority in protecting and sponsoring his long-time romantic partner, a 35-year-old woman accused of misrepresenting her academic career.
The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) reiterated its demand that President Roh Moo-hyun apologize for his former aide's alleged use of his influence to place Shin Jeong-ah in a faculty job at Dongguk University in Seoul.
It also urged the presidential chief of staff, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs and presidential spokesman to resign for having made false statements about the case.
However, Cheong Wa Dae said none of Roh's aides have expressed any intention to resign over the scandal.
Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told reporters that no decisions will be made on possible resignations until after all the facts have been reported.
Roh dismissed his chief national policy planning secretary Byeon Yang-kyoon, 58, Monday for having maintained improper relations with Shin, a former assistant art professor at the university who is now on the wanted list for fabricating her academic degrees.
The GNP warned President Roh not to attempt to meddle in the prosecution's investigation of the scandal.
``I understand that more people in the ruling group were implicated in the scandal. I do have several names but will not make them public at the moment because it has elements of defamation,'' Ahn Sang-soo, floor leader of the GNP, said Wednesday.
Ahn said his party will investigate the case on its own.
The pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) also said it is willing to work together with the opposition parties to seek the appointment of an independent counsel.
Minor opposition parties also said they will cooperate with the GNP if the prosecution's investigation falters.
Political observers said the scandal has dealt a fatal blow to President Roh, the pro-government party and its five presidential contenders.
The outbreak of the scandal has potential to destabilize the five candidates because the public might link the ethics of the former presidential aide to that of the entire ruling and pro-government group, they said.
With about three months to go before the presidential election, the UNDP is trying to distance itself from Cheong Wa Dae and to protect its candidates from the negative fallout of the scandal.
The GNP and its presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak may try to take advantage of the case to turn the public attention from his questionable accumulation of personal wealth to the ethical problems of the governing camp, they said.