Conflict between the Saenuri Party and Democratic Party escalated Thursday as the DP’s street campaign to increase pressure on the ruling party over the parliamentary investigation into the National Intelligence Service got underway.

The two main parties have been at loggerheads over who will be called as witnesses for the hearing on the NIS’ actions during last year’s presidential election, with each accusing the other of causing delays.

The parliamentary investigation is scheduled to end on Aug. 15, but the parties have yet to question the NIS and pick witnesses.

The DP set up the headquarters for its committee to revive democracy and reform the NIS in Seoul Plaza and held a general meeting of its members.

“The DP needs to collect the wisdom of the public, party members and its lawmakers to revive democracy and reform the NIS. The Saenuri Party’s monopolizing the parliamentary investigation cannot change the essence of the case,” DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil said.

“The Saenuri Party’s refusal of the investigation is clear monopolization of state affairs. It is incomprehensible that the Saenuri Party is preventing former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and former Seoul police commissioner Kim Yong-pan from taking the stand.”

Won is suspected of ordering the NIS to attempt to sway public opinion against the DP’s Rep. Moon Jae-in, while Kim Yong-pan is thought to have been behind the efforts to reduce the scope of the police investigation into the allegations.

Kim went on to say that his party would hold a rally supporting their cause in central Seoul on Saturday, and that the DP would continue working within and outside the parliament to put the investigation back on track.

While the DP says that the campaign is in response to what it calls the ruling party’s sabotage attempts, the Saenuri Party hit back saying the parliamentary investigation would break down if the opposition continued the so-called “out-of-arena protest.”

“It is unadvisable for the leadership of the main opposition to be pushed by the hardliners into breaking down the parliamentary investigation,” Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan said.

Choi also said that the DP’s actions appeared to be a ploy by hardliners within the party.

“The DP’s leadership, which is being pushed around by the hard-line faction, is pitiful.”

The two sides’ representatives for the investigation, who have been negotiating over who will be called to testify, also continued the blame game.

The DP has called for the two parties to agree to order Kim to attend the hearing and to guarantee that a complaint will be filed against the former police chief if he refuses.

The Saenuri Party has ruled out such measures, saying that it would be rising above the law.

“The parliamentary investigation was made invalid when the out-of-arena fight was declared,” Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the Saenuri Party said in a radio interview.

DP’s representative for the hearing, Rep. Jung Cheong-rae, hit back, accusing the ruling party of never having any intention to conduct the investigation.

“The Saenuri Party never intended to hold a parliamentary investigation. (The Saenuri Party) can break the investigation if it wants to,” Jung said Thursday.

As the bipartisan discord rose to a new high, Saenuri Party deputy floor leader Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun indicated that the ruling party was willing to postpone the deadline for witness selection.

Speaking to reporters after a leadership meeting, Yoon said that the parliamentary hearing could carry on as scheduled if the witnesses were selected by Aug. 5. 


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