Former presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party on Sunday called on President Park Geun-hye to step in to end the political deadlock over the National Intelligence Service with the parliamentary probe of the agency running out of time.

The parliamentary probe into the NIS’ election interference is set to finish on Friday, but the DP and the ruling Saenuri Party remain at odds over fundamental issues including witness selection and what it has achieved.

“The only one who can resolve the current situation is President Park Geun-hye,” Moon said at the memorial service for late President Kim Dae-jung in Seoul. He went on to say that Park should apologize for the situation, and remove NIS chief Nam Jae-joon from his post.

Saying that it was Park’s “duty,” he added that the president should uncover the truth about the NIS’ alleged election interference and the developments surrounding the 2007 inter-Korean summit and make those responsible answer for their actions.

It has been claimed that former President Roh Moo-hyun conceded the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea to North Korea. Although the two main parties agreed to view the presidential records to verify the claims, it was found that the transcript of the summit was not in the National Achieves’ database.

Moon, who had stayed away from the spotlight and DP activities in recent weeks, also added his voice to the party’s cause, including DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil’s request to meet with Park.

Kim had called on Park to meet with him one-on-one to resolve related issues, but Park responded by suggesting a five-member meeting, which the DP rejected.

Instead of meeting with Kim alone, the presidential office had suggested including the chairmen and floor leaders of the DP and the ruling Saenuri Party.

As for the parliamentary probe on the NIS, the DP is of the view it has so far failed to shed light on the scope of the spy agency’s election interference, while the ruling party appears to be shifting its focus on to calling the National Assembly into session.

“If the truth is not properly uncovered, then it should be pursued (by all means) even through a special counsel investigation,” Moon said, saying that the parliamentary probe had “many limitations” to fully investigating the developments.

The DP is also said to be planning to push to bring Rep. Kim Moo-sung and Korean Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se to the stand, which the Saenuri Party considers to be a concluded issue.

Kim Moo-sung and Kwon served in key roles for the president’s campaign, and are accused of having had access to the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)