Lee Accepts Summit Talk with President Kim

Lee Hoi Chang, photo, opposition leader and president of the Grand National Party(GNP), in an interview on March 2, signalled that he will accept a meeting with President Kim Dae Jung.
Lee said, 'I heard President Kim profess his desire to abandon artificial political reform, so I am willing to meet with him to solve the current political stagnation.'
Lee emphasized he will help the ruling side if there exists an atmosphere of mutual respect in politics.
He continued, 'It is unproductive to mention allegations of secret political slush funds during the presidential election in 1997, since no one is completely free from that old tradition. The government should stop seeking to arrest our party member, Seo Sang Mok, for it is simply a political scheme to hurt the GNP.'
'The government was too eager to show off its short-term achievements towards economic recovery which have caused massive layoffs and a soaring unemployment rate,' he added.
On the North Korean issue, he asserted, 'I don't deny Kim's so-called 'Sunshine Policy' but there should be clearly defined methods to control North Korean transgressions.'