By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter


Tensions between the ruling and opposition parties over the eavesdropping scandal have intensified as the two sides Tuesday pushed ahead with different measures on the case.

Four opposition parties submitted to the National Assembly a bill to name a special counsel to investigate the case, showing their distrust of investigations by the National Intelligence Agency (NIS) and the prosecution. The four includes the largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP), the progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the United Liberal Democrats (ULD).

The opposition bill aims to have the independent prosecutor, who will be chosen from among lawyers, launch investigations into previous eavesdropping practices by the spy agency since February 1993. The period includes the Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and incumbent administrations.

``We can’t expect the NIS and the prosecution to carry out trustworthy investigations and reveal the truth,’’ said Rep. Maeng Hyung-kyu, chief policymaker of the GNP. ``Only a special counsel could be free from the influence of the government and ruling Uri party.’’

Opposition parties suspect the emergence of the bugging scandal has resulted from a political maneuver by the government and governing party. Some opposition party lawmakers have questioned whether illegal eavesdropping continued during the rule of the incumbent administration.

The ruling party’s bill for a special law is aimed at allowing a civic fact-finding body composed of seven non-governmental experts to unearth the truth behind the scandal and decide whether to open the contents of controversial audiotapes to the public. If necessary, the committee will spend up to nine months including a three-month extension for a thorough investigation into the case.

As the ruling party holds 146 seats and the opposition parties have a combined 148 seats in the 299-member legislature, it is uncertain which bill could be approved during the Assembly session. The remaining five are independent lawmakers.

For the bill to be approved, more than half of the 299 lawmakers registered are required to vote with more than half of participants voting for it.

The prosecution has seized 274 audiotapes from the home of Kong Un-yong, former head of the bugging unit of the spy agency, code-named, ``Mirim.’’ The tapes are likely to spark further controversies after the first one dubbed, ``X-files,’’ pressured Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Hong Seok-hyun to resign last month.

It allegedly contained a secret discussion between Hong, then president of the Samsung Group-affiliated daily the JoongAng Ilbo, and a senior Samsung official discussing ways to provide presidential candidates with slush funds in September 1997.

``If someone discloses the contents of the tapes, he or she will be punished immediately under current law strictly banning illegal eavesdropping,’’ said Moon Hee-sang, chairman of the ruling party. ``The proposed special law seems to be the only way to satisfy the rights of the public to know the truth.’’

On Monday, President Roh Moo-hyun objected to the opposition proposal for a special counsel to investigate the scandal.

``I believe we can be sure whether the incumbent government was involved in the illegal eavesdropping will be uncovered through the ongoing investigation by the National Intelligence Service and the prosecution. I think they are reliable enough,’’ Roh said.

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