Students rebuff meeting with ruling party members

The association of 12 university student councils has rebuffed a meeting over the DDoS scandal with the Grand National Party (GNP), indicating the deep-rooted distrust of the ruling party among collegians.

Lee Jun-seok, a member of the GNP’s emergency leadership council, called the association on Tuesday, asking the student leaders to visit the GNP’s head office in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. The party’s purpose to arrange the meeting was to exchange opinions on the scandal.

The association, however, refused based on suspicious motives. “It’s absurd to discuss the hacking scandal, in which GNP staffers were involved, at the party’s office. That’s why we decided not to accept the proposal,” a student member said.

On Jan. 4, the association issued a joint statement calling for a fair investigation into the hacking of the website of the country’s election watchdog during the Oct. 26 by-elections. It described the attack as an unforgivable crime that threatened the country’s democracy.

Lee, who leads the party’s fact-finding panel on the case, has offered to meet with collegians, saying the party must strengthen communication with the young generation to revamp its image.

The website attack has triggered greater interest in politics among collegians as the country is gearing up for parliamentary elections in April and presidential vote in December. Some students have vowed not to vote for GNP candidates.

So far, student councils of most top colleges, including Seoul National University, KAIST, Korea University and Yonsei University, have adopted the statement and vowed to step up their campaign to mobilize the power of the people.