GNP Seeks Special Counsel on Monitoring
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The Grand National Party (GNP) said Thursday that it will seek an independent counsel to investigate who was behind alleged illicit monitoring of land deals of its presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak and his relatives by government agencies.
Floor leader Ahn Sang-soo claimed that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and National Tax Service (NTS) conducted illegal investigations to discredit Lee.
Ahn took the initiative on a bill to appoint a special prosecutor, signed by 128 GNP lawmakers.
``Someone in power could have masterminded the plan to discredit the presidential nominee through these illegal activities,'' Ahn said. ``So the party decided to seek a special prosecutor to investigate the matter.''
The United New Democratic Party (UNDP) has already submitted a bill to seek a special prosecutor to look into suspicions on Lee's land deals.
The two parties' separate bills need to be approved by the National Assembly.
The UNDP holds 141 seats in the 299-member legislature, while the GNP has 129, and so both need to form an alliance with other parties to get their bills approved.
According to GNP floor leader Ahn, the spy agency organized a special task force to investigate land deals and the financial status of Lee's family members and reported the results to Cheong Wa Dae on a regular basis.
Ahn also said the Ministry of Construction and Transportation produced a negative assessment report on a pan-Korea waterway project, a flagship campaign pledge by Lee.
He added that NTS officials accessed the service's online system 79 times to illegally monitor Lee's family members' tax payment history, foreign travel, and overseas financial transactions.
The lawmaker said NTS summarized its results in a memo, but that he does not know to whom this was forwarded to.
Previously, the opposition party requested prosecutors to investigate whether or not the activities of the NIS and NTS were illegal.
``Prosecutors have been slow in their investigation of the case, and consequently no progress has been made. Therefore we must rely on the option of last resort,'' Ahn said.