By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter

Lee Hoi-chang, former presidential candidate of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), on Tuesday said that President Roh Moo-hyun should not try to dodge his responsibility for the role he played in raising funds for his Dec. 19, 2002 presidential election.

``President Roh and I are not free from the scandal over presidential campaign fundraising,’’ Lee told reporters at the GNP headquarters in Yoido, Seoul. ``I am ready to go to prison, if I have to for what I did in the campaign. I dare President Roh to make a correction of judgment on this issue.’’

He, however, didn’t ask any specific demands for President Roh to carry out.

Lee’s remarks came a day after the prosecution announced its interim tally regarding the fund-raising scandals, showing Roh’s election camp took up to 11.4 billion won ($8.3 million) in illegal corporate donations, roughly one-seventh of the 82.3 billion won ($70 million) the GNP amassed. Roh faces pressure from opposition lawmakers who want to hold him accountable for his vow to step down, if the amount of illegal funds he received ahead of the 2002 presidential election exceeds one tenth of what the GNP received.

The former leader of the majority party expressed his regret over the prosecution’s preliminary report, which he described as ``unfair’’ against the conservative party. The 69-year-old also criticized the prosecution’s decision to delay its investigation until after the end of the April 15 general elections.

``Before everything else, I can’t understand the prosecution’s decision to put off its investigation into me, the former presidential candidate, and President Roh until the end of the general elections,’’ Lee said. ``It’s nothing but a politically motivated maneuver.’’

Prosecutor Ahn Dai-hui, chief of the investigation team, on Monday said he will delay summoning politicians until after the spring polls.

It was Lee’s third time to have a media conference over the GNP’s involvement in the illegal fund-raising scandals. He simply read a statement this time with no emotional expressions and declined to take questions from reporters.

im@koreatimes.co.kr