By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The chairman of the Grand National Party (GNP) Tuesday warned the prosecution against politicizing the internal feud of the two presidential candidates.
Rep. Kang Jae-sup said that the prosecution should lay off the legal case, which a brother-in-law of leading presidential contender Lee Myung-bak asked to investigate, if the plaintiff withdraws his complaints.
His comment came after a senior prosecutor hinted at continuing the probe even though legal action was dropped.
The prosecutor said on condition of anonymity Monday, that there is room for further investigation of the case even though the libel suit was withdrawn.
Kang refuted that ``under the current law, the judicial body has no jurisdiction over a defamation case once a victim of the case withdrew the legal action.''
If the office continues to probe even after apparent expression of withdrawal is made, the investigation will face public criticism that its probe is politically motivated, he said.
``If that happens, the investigation is a piece of evidence revealing that the judicial body is intending to meddle in the presidential election,'' Kang added.
The GNP leader re-urged the former Seoul mayor to persuade his brother-in-law to drop the lawsuit.
But Lee has not shown signs of doing so yet, according to his spokesman.
The Lee camp urged former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye to clarify her position on a police conclusion that the government-funded paper criticizing Lee's canal project was handed over to Park's aide before it was leaked to the press.
He said it is quite shocking to hear that the Park camp ``colluded with the incumbent government'' to distort Lee's canal project.
A group of 27 GNP lawmakers, who back the former Seoul mayor, urged Park to apologize to Lee for her close aide's involvement in the distortion and leakage of the government-funded paper on the waterway project.
``Park's confidants have become bedfellows of the ruling camp through a plot to eliminate Lee from the presidential race,'' they said.