Presidential Office Sues Lee’s Aides
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Presidential hopeful Lee Myung-bak's camp said Friday that they will take legal action against Cheong Wa Dae for alleged violations of the Election Law.
The reaction came after the presidential office sued Reps. Park Hyeong-joon and Chin Soo-hee, spokespersons of Lee's camp, for spreading groundless rumors and defamation.
``We will take a countermeasure against the lawsuit and we've already completed all preparations including countercharges,'' Rep. Lee Jae-oh told reporters. ``Peace for peace, a fight for a fight. We will confront Cheong Wa Dae with the way it acts.''
Lee criticized President Roh Moo-hyun and his administration for intervening in a nomination race of an opposition party.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moon Jae-in said the remarks by Lee's campaign workers are totally slanderous and urged Lee to apologize.
The move came after the 66-year-old former Seoul mayor and his campaign staff contended that Cheong Wa Dae is ``remote controlling'' lawmakers of the pro-government Uri Party and state-run research institutes to frustrate Lee's presidential bid.
Chang Young-dal, floor leader of the Uri Party, said he has crucial materials to defeat Lee and another presidential contender Park Geun-hye of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP).
``I will keep close watch until the GNP selects its presidential candidate. Once the materials are revealed, it will deal a fatal blow to the GNP,'' he said.
GNP Spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said her party will sue Chang for slander and violation of the election law unless he unveils the sources of the materials.
Chin of the GNP said, ``We will confront the provocative presidential office as much as possible to meet the people's hope for a change of government.''
She claimed that Cheong Wa Dae should apologize to the public for its wrongdoings for defaming Lee.
A day earlier, Park and Chin, close aides to the former Seoul mayor, raised a suspicion that Cheong Wa Dae is abetting the Uri Party to attack Lee.
They insisted that Uri lawmakers' offensives against Lee are political maneuvering that the presidential office instructed.
Since the GNP began qualification screening of its presidential hopefuls, Lee has been a target of public scrutiny.
His rival Park's camp as well as Uri lawmakers suspected that Lee accumulated wealth in illicit ways such as using false-name bank accounts and real estate speculation.