Park Guen-hye Urges Through Probe of Scandal
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Rep. Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party (GNP) said Thursday that prosecutors should clarify whether or not her one-time rival Lee Myung-bak is involved in a stock price manipulation scandal.
Former GNP Chairwoman Park urged prosecutors to investigate the allegedly illegal business deals, which were instigated by Lee's former business partner Kim Kyung-joon, without leaving room for further suspicions in the future.
Her remarks were construed as indicating that she may link the results of the investigation to whether she will campaign for the party nominee or not.
Asked if she would still continue to support Lee even if he was found to be involved in the scandal, Park said, ``We will see how it turns out later.''
She is scheduled to start campaign speechs for Lee from today.
Her comments came shortly after Rep. Koak Sung-moon, one of her confidants, left the GNP to support independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang.
Koak said the former Seoul mayor should not become the next president if as he is implicated in several scandals.
``A change of government led by the GNP nominee is neither possible nor desirable,'' he said.
He accused the former Seoul mayor of having troubled ethics.
Koak said he concluded the Lee Hoi-chang, a former Supreme Court judge is entitled to represent the best interests of conservatives and therefore decided to support the independent candidate.
He raised suspicion regarding the former Seoul mayor's wealth during the GNP primary race.
The lawmaker said a few GNP lawmakers share the view that the nominee should not be the next president.
Koak said they will decide whether to leave the GNP next week after prosecutors announce interim investigation results.
Party spokeswoman Na Kyung-won, however, insisted that there would be no more lawmakers leaving the party.
Na said Koak left the party for personal reasons and his desertion has nothing to do with the prosecutors' investigation.