Bombshell revelation gives ammunition to opposition
to attack Lee, ruling party
A spying scandal involving former aides of President Lee Myung-bak is rocking Korean politics in the lead-up to an election in which his Saenuri Party may lose control over the parliament.
The main opposition Democratic United Party on Friday went into full-fledged attack mode against Lee and the conservative ruling party, aiming to capitalize on the explosive scandal in the upcoming parliamentary poll.
On Thursday, documents purportedly produced by the Prime Minister’s Office were disclosed by a labor union of local broadcaster KBS, suggesting that the office had conducted an illegal surveillance operation targeting more than 2,600 people from politics, business and media. Some of the documents are signed “BH ordered,” which many suspect stands for the Blue House, or the presidential office.
DUP leader Han Myeong-sook demanded the truth from the president on the suspicions.
“The scope of illegal surveillance, which was revealed by the disclosed documents, is just appalling,” DUP leader Han Myeong-sook said in a press conference in Chuncheon, a stop on her campaign trail for the April 11 election.
“The bigger problem is that it may have been directly reported to the VIP. He must clarify himself regarding the suspicions,” she said, referring to the president.
Her party has equated the case to the U.S. Watergate scandal in the 1970s which ousted President Richard Nixon.
Rep. Park Young-sun took a step further to criticize Saenuri leader and strongest presidential contender Park Geun-hye.
“I cannot but have suspicions about Park who hasn’t spoken a word on the prosecution’s investigation into the illegal surveillance scandal. Particularly because illegal spying prevailed under the military dictatorship,” the politician said.
It was an unmistakable reference to the 18 years of iron-fisted rule by the conservative leader’s late father, Park Chung-hee.
The snowballing scandal is likely to further isolate Lee, who is nearing the end of his term, with the election to pick his successor due in December. Korean presidents are limited by law to a single five-year term.
Korea will hold a nationwide election next month to pick 300 parliamentarians amid strong public dissatisfaction with established politics.
The DUP, having formed an alliance with the far-left Unified Progressive Party, aims to eject the Saenuri from power in the upcoming poll and keep voter sentiment running positive into the ensuring presidential race. Polls so far show the two parties neck-and-neck.
Political pundits said the case is likely to emerge as the biggest election issue and aid the opposition’s efforts to frame the election as a judgment on the Lee administration.
The Saenuri Party, scrambling to contain the scandal’s impact on voter sentiment, called for a thorough investigation on Friday.
“The prosecution must get to the bottom of the case and sternly deal with whoever is involved, regardless of their rank,” said Lee Sang-il, the party’s spokesperson.
Chief Park Geun-hye made similar comments later in the day, when asked by reporters in Daejeon.
The prosecution is currently investigating the 2008 illegal surveillance of a businessman critical of the president by the prime minister’s office. It questioned former presidential aides on suspicions that they directed the operation and its cover-up.
The Saenuri Party countered the opposition’s criticism, saying the case was reminiscent of an eavesdropping scandal under the administration of late liberal President Kim Dae-jung, in which the national intelligence agency was found to have illegally spied on influential figures.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldm.com)
A spying scandal involving former aides of President Lee Myung-bak is rocking Korean politics in the lead-up to an election in which his Saenuri Party may lose control over the parliament.
The main opposition Democratic United Party on Friday went into full-fledged attack mode against Lee and the conservative ruling party, aiming to capitalize on the explosive scandal in the upcoming parliamentary poll.
On Thursday, documents purportedly produced by the Prime Minister’s Office were disclosed by a labor union of local broadcaster KBS, suggesting that the office had conducted an illegal surveillance operation targeting more than 2,600 people from politics, business and media. Some of the documents are signed “BH ordered,” which many suspect stands for the Blue House, or the presidential office.
DUP leader Han Myeong-sook demanded the truth from the president on the suspicions.
“The scope of illegal surveillance, which was revealed by the disclosed documents, is just appalling,” DUP leader Han Myeong-sook said in a press conference in Chuncheon, a stop on her campaign trail for the April 11 election.
“The bigger problem is that it may have been directly reported to the VIP. He must clarify himself regarding the suspicions,” she said, referring to the president.
Her party has equated the case to the U.S. Watergate scandal in the 1970s which ousted President Richard Nixon.
 |
| Rep. Park Young-sun of the opposition Democratic United Party (right) holds up a placard showing an enlarged image of a document implicating the Blue House in the Prime Minister’s Office’s illegal surveillance activities at the party’s head office in Seoul on Friday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) |
Rep. Park Young-sun took a step further to criticize Saenuri leader and strongest presidential contender Park Geun-hye.
“I cannot but have suspicions about Park who hasn’t spoken a word on the prosecution’s investigation into the illegal surveillance scandal. Particularly because illegal spying prevailed under the military dictatorship,” the politician said.
It was an unmistakable reference to the 18 years of iron-fisted rule by the conservative leader’s late father, Park Chung-hee.
The snowballing scandal is likely to further isolate Lee, who is nearing the end of his term, with the election to pick his successor due in December. Korean presidents are limited by law to a single five-year term.
Korea will hold a nationwide election next month to pick 300 parliamentarians amid strong public dissatisfaction with established politics.
The DUP, having formed an alliance with the far-left Unified Progressive Party, aims to eject the Saenuri from power in the upcoming poll and keep voter sentiment running positive into the ensuring presidential race. Polls so far show the two parties neck-and-neck.
Political pundits said the case is likely to emerge as the biggest election issue and aid the opposition’s efforts to frame the election as a judgment on the Lee administration.
The Saenuri Party, scrambling to contain the scandal’s impact on voter sentiment, called for a thorough investigation on Friday.
“The prosecution must get to the bottom of the case and sternly deal with whoever is involved, regardless of their rank,” said Lee Sang-il, the party’s spokesperson.
Chief Park Geun-hye made similar comments later in the day, when asked by reporters in Daejeon.
The prosecution is currently investigating the 2008 illegal surveillance of a businessman critical of the president by the prime minister’s office. It questioned former presidential aides on suspicions that they directed the operation and its cover-up.
The Saenuri Party countered the opposition’s criticism, saying the case was reminiscent of an eavesdropping scandal under the administration of late liberal President Kim Dae-jung, in which the national intelligence agency was found to have illegally spied on influential figures.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldm.com)
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