DUP hits back at Park over Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation


The main opposition Democratic United Party on Sunday stepped up accusations against Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye over a controversial private foundation formerly run by her and her family.

It claimed that the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation’s reported plan to cash out on its equity holdings in media firms and spend the proceeds on big welfare programs in Busan was a thinly disguised attempt to help Park’s presidential campaign.

Busan, the country’s second-largest city, is a core election battleground, crucial to Park and her liberal rivals’ chances for victory in the December election.

“Candidate Park must return the assets of the Jeongsu foundation, which her father took by force, to society in a way that the general public can accept,” said Rep. Park Jie-won, the DUP’s floor leader. “It must not be used in any way to help her political standing.”

The DUP, to stop the plan, is considering all possible means from a parliamentary investigation to a boycott of the ongoing parliamentary audit of the government, he added.

Political watchers said the liberal camp, which has been under attack recently from Saenuri members digging into late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun’s confidential dialogue with the North Korean leader in their 2007 summit, is seeking to turn the tables with the education foundation, a weak point for Park.

Named after military strongman Park Chung-hee and first lady Yook Young-su, the foundation is seen by many as a living legacy of Park’s military dictatorship. It was established with assets looted during his regime and has been kept to honor the slain ruler, critics say.

Rep. Park Geun-hye ran the foundation from 1999 until she stepped down amid public criticism in 2005. Choi Phil-lip, a staunch confidant to her late father, has been running it since then.

She claims to have no influence over the foundation now.

The foundation’s equity sale plan was revealed in a news report Saturday.

According to Hankyoreh, a vernacular daily, Choi secretly discussed with MBC-TV officials in a meeting last week its plan to dispose of a 100 percent stake of the Busan Ilbo newspaper and a 30 percent stake in the TV network and use the proceeds for underprivileged people in Busan. The shares are estimated to be worth over 600 billion won ($540 million).

The Saenuri Party insisted that Park and the party had nothing to do with the foundation’s plan, accusing the opposition of negative campaigning.

“(The equity sale plan) is a matter to be decided by the foundation. There’s nothing for us to comment,” said Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, the party’s spokesperson.

Yet there is a growing notion among Saenuri members that the issue must be cleared once and for all.

“The link between candidate Park and (foundation chairman) Choi is the root cause of public misunderstandings. It is my and many other committee members’ wish that Choi steps down from the position and allows someone more neutral to take charge,” he said.

In February, a local court acknowledged the forcible nature of a donation to the foundation by Busan-based businessman Kim Young-wu but denied Kim’s son a right to get the assets back, citing the expiration of statutory limitations. A higher court is currently reviewing the case and a decision is expected as early as later this month.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)


Mud-slinging deepens over Roh’s alleged NLL remarks


Mud-slinging between rival parties is increasing over the ruling Saenuri Party’s accusations that former President Roh Moo-hyun renounced the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border with North Korea.

The opposition Democratic United Party on Sunday struck back, arguing that the Saenuri presidential candidate Rep. Park Geun-hye would have to take responsibility should the allegation turn out to be false.

Last week, Saenuri lawmaker Chung Moon-hun alleged that Roh had pledged to nullify the NLL during an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2007 when DUP candidate Moon Jae-in served as Roh’s chief of staff.

The Saenuri Party also claimed that, before the 2007 summit, Cheong Wa Dae held a meeting where officials expressed the need for a public discussion about the “unilateral” demarcation of the sea border by the U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Chung’s claim sparked criticism that the NLL issue is being used politically ahead of the December election while conservatives argue the late president’s remarks, if found to be true, are tantamount to giving up part of the country’s maritime territory.

“This issue does not only concern the individual lawmaker Chung, but has become an issue involving the candidate Park and the entire Saenuri Party,” Rep. Lee In-young, Moon’s senior campaign official, told a press conference.

“As the allegation that Roh gave up the claim to the NLL could undermine the national interest, we should unearth the truth,” he added, urging Chung to verify on what evidence he bases his allegation.

Lee also urged the chief of the National Intelligence Service to ascertain whether Roh held a one-on-one meeting with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and if there are minutes of their conversation.

Moon and Roh’s former aides have denied the allegations, saying that there were no talks held only between Roh and Moon without their aides.

“I will take responsibility for that if the allegation is true. If it isn’t, candidate Park and Chung should do so,” Moon told reporters last Friday.

Chung also alleged that Roh pledged to “drive U.S. troops out of the Seoul metropolitan area” during what he claims to be the exclusive talks. He argues that the minutes of the Roh-Kim conversation are kept at the NIS.

The Saenuri has requested that the National Assembly conduct its probe into the allegation while the DUP berated the ruling party for what it sees as a political ploy.

Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s side expressed frustration over the case becoming politicized.

“The action to use the minutes of the inter-Korean summit for political gain is a grave issue that undermine the future of the inter-Korean relations and the country’s international credibility,” Ahn’s spokesperson Chung Yeon-soo said in a statement.

“We cannot help but deplore such action to make it a political fodder.”

Political observers said that parties should be careful on North Korean issues as any attempt at politically using these issues could backfire.

“There have been many past cases when political forces tried to use a North Korea factor in swinging the political tide to their favor. But in most cases, they did not work out as they wished ― a sign that voters are mature enough to discern what the politicking is,” said Yoon Pyung-joon, political philosophy professor at Hanshin University.

“Although it is not allowed by law to disclose the summit conversation, under the bipartisan agreement, the defense parliamentary committee members could go and confirm the limited part of the minutes to unearth the truth so that the issue would not cause any more political confusion.”

Lee Chung-hee, politics professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, agreed.

“This is a security issue where political bickering won’t help and will only lead to public backlash. The parties should focus more on their security policies rather than making a media debacle,” he said.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)