Prosecutors after opposition leader

DUP whip may be summoned

By Chung Min-uck

Prosecutors may summon Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), after acquiring testimony from Lim Suk, chairman of Solomon Savings Bank, on Monday that he “gave tens of millions of won” to the politician.

Prosecutors have been somewhat hesitant to investigate the DUP floor leader in fear of a political backlash that could divert public attention from the ongoing investigation of Lee Sang-deuk, President Lee Myung-bak’s elder brother and a former National Assembly vice speaker, and Chung Doo-un, a three-term lawmaker of the Saenuri Party, over bribery allegations.

Both are suspected of collecting funds from businessmen including Lim in 2007 allegedly to finance President Lee’s presidential campaign.

However, Park denies allegations that he received illicit money, calling it a “politically motivated move” by prosecutors and the ruling Saenuri Party.

Observers say a summons for Park could be issued as early as this week.

“There is no immediate plan to summon Park but we will take the step after checking the relevance of (Lim’s) statement,” a prosecutor was quoted as saying on Monday.

The DUP floor leader while denying the allegation said “I only met with Lim once in a plane more than 10 years ago,” and “didn’t even sit down to have a meal with him.” “I don’t understand who is assaulting me by making irrelevant comments.”

The chief aide to the late former President Kim Dae-jung has been the main opposition party’s frontline political force in charge of countering Rep. Park Geun-hye, a member of the Saenuri Party and leading presidential figure for the Dec. 19 presidential election, playing up negative campaigns.

Park Geun-hye is the daughter of another former president, Park Chung-hee.

The floor leader earlier criticized Park Geun-hye for not accepting the open primary rules suggested by other Saenuri presidential hopefuls and called her “despotic.”

Regarding recent circumstances surrounding the postponement of a Korea-Japan intelligence-sharing pact, Park Jie-won said “Park Geun-hye was too late to express regret after the pact had already been postponed.”

Against this backdrop, Rep. Seo Byung-soo, Saenuri Party’s secretary-general and close aide of Park Geun-hye, downplayed Park Jie-won’s comments saying “those are nothing but political attacks on the representative presidential candidate of the Saenuri Party ... the words are nothing more than that.”

Meanwhile, Chung Dong-young, a former DUP lawmaker who ran for president in the previous election, on Monday announced he will not run in the upcoming race, adding he will instead devote himself to helping the party take power.