Mon, June 01, 2009
SEOUL, June 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said President Lee Myung-bak should apologize for the death of ex-president Roh Moo-hyun, criticizing the Lee administration for conducting a "politically motivated" investigation on Roh.
During a meeting between the newly elected floor leaders of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the DP, Lee Kang-rae, DP floor leader, demanded President Lee to issue an official apology on the former president's death, as well as discharging the justice minister, the prosecutor general and other officials engaged in the case.
DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun had also asked for a "sincere apology" from President Lee and proper reprimand of responsible officials at a press meeting on Sunday.
However, the GNP expressed worries in that the issue may be led into political wrangling, which may further delay the extra parliamentary session which was originally scheduled to begin earlier in the day.
"President Lee should express regrets on the issue, rather than issuing an official apology, and it is not yet an appropriate time to launch a special investigation," South Korea's another right-wing Liberty Forefront Party (LFP) chairman Lee Hoi-chang was quoted as saying by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Ex-president Roh jumped off a cliff near his hometown on May 23 while the prosecutors charged Roh with a "bribery scandal," which many of his supporters called "political persecution."
