President's Son Drawn Into Scandal Maelstrom

The main opposition Grand National Party said Wednesday that it would be better for President Kim Dae-jung's eldest son to give up his parliamentary seat and stay in the United States for the rest of President Kim's term to take responsibility for his alleged ties with gangsters.

Chang Kwang-keun, a party spokes-man, said that if Chung Sung-hong, formerly employed in the economic section of the National Intelligence Service, had "begged," as he alleges, Representative Kim Hong-il not to associate with gangsters, it was suggestive of a deep relationship with organized crime.

Kim Ki-bae, the party's secretary-general, and Lee Jae-oh, the floor leader, said, however, that while there were problems with Mr. Kim's conduct, seeking his resignation was not the party's official stance.

Mr. Kim, who had planned to leave for the United States in January to seek medical treatment, said the accusation was not backed up with concrete evidence and that he would immediately resign if it were determined that he had a relationship with organized crime.

Asked whether Mr. Chung had approached him recently to prevent his ouster, Mr. Kim said no, but added that it would be better for the country if the incident went unmentioned. Mr. Chung resigned recently from the National Intelligence Service under suspicion of having received 40 million won ($31,000) from a lobbyist working on behalf of Chin Seung-hyun, who is at the center of a yearlong financial scandal.

The Blue House remained tight-lipped, saying prosecutors were investigating Mr. Kim's alleged links with organized crime and that people should await the results of the investigation.

An official with the ruling party said Mr. Kim has distanced himself from Mr. Chung, and declined to meet him when Mr. Chung was trying to introduce Mr. Chin to him. The official suggested that Mr. Chung was threatening Mr. Kim.

Both ruling and opposition parties called for a thorough investigation after a newspaper reported, without identifying a source, that Chung Sung-hong funneled a large amount of money to a handful of politicians. The money allegedly originated from Mr. Chin, a businessman charged with obtaining illegal loans and manipulating share prices. Three or four ruling-party lawmakers and three or four opposition lawmakers are suspected of receiving money from Mr. Chin through Mr. Chung.

by Lee Sang-il