New '3 Kims' under attack by GNP

The Grand National Party called Friday for an independent counsel, a parliamentary inquiry and an apology from President Kim Dae-jung. The target is Mr. Kim's three sons, all of whom the opposition party said are implicated in financial scandals. Party officials suggested that a probe into the president may be necessary as well.

The GNP said that it will rally April 19 at Yeouido Park in Seoul to denounce the president and his sons. The demands come while President Kim Dae-jung is resting at an army hospital in Seoul because of fatigue and digestion problems. He is expected to return to work Monday, the Blue House said Friday.

GNP legislators Huh Tae-yeol and Ahn Young-keun said the three sons and the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation for the Asia-Pacific Region are involved in illegalities.

The president's party shrugged off the demands. "For the Grand National Party to comment on an ongoing investigation is obstruction of justice," said ruling party spokesman Lee Nak-yon. Mr. Lee said the call for an investigation of the president is "an intolerable political offensive that violates the spirit of the constitution."

Undermining that indignation, however, a ruling party presidential candidate, Roh Moo-hyun, seemed to agree with the opposition's idea. In a radio interview Friday, Mr. Roh said,"If there is no trust that the prosecution is doing its job well, an independent counsel with a limited mandate is needed." He later said, however, that he was speaking of corruption in general, not about the presidential offspring.

by Lee Sang-il