Kim urged to go further

The main opposition Grand National Party held a street rally Friday calling for President Kim Dae-jung to make a personal public apology for the alleged corruption of his three sons. Earlier in the day, Mr. Kim issued an apology through his spokeswoman.

The rally drew a reported 10,000 people to Yeouido Park in Seoul, where the party reiterated its call for an independent counsel as well as a National Assembly investigation and a televised public hearing of the allegations. The opposition party called for the resignation of Mr. Kim's cabinet and proposed setting up an emergency neutral cabinet.

Some even demanded that the president resign. "The Kim Dae-jung administration has turned this country into a republic of corruption," Park Kwan-yong, the the party's acting chief, said.

"In order to stop the suffering of his three son as well as himself, President Kim should take responsibility for the allegations," he added.

The party's floor leader Lee Jae-oh said, "Twelve of the president's relatives, 16 high officials, including former Prosecutor General Shin Seung-nam, and eight officials at the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation have been exposed for taking part in corruption scandals."

Mr. Lee insisted that the ruling Millennium Democratic Party and the peace foundation be broken up and the property of the foundation handed over to the national treasury.

Roh Moo-hyun, the ruling party's leading presidential candidate, was also criticized at the rally as the successor to President Kim and a symbol of a corrupt administration.

Opposition legislator Yoon Yeo-joon, who was earlier accused by Representative Sul Hoon of the ruling party of delivering a bribe to the leading opposition presidential contender, Representative Lee Hoi-chang, said Mr. Sul's unfounded accusation shows that the Millennium Democrat-led government is full of lies. Mr. Yoon demanded that Mr. Sul resign.

Lee Nak-yon, the ruling party's spokesman, said the opposition rally is part of the GNP's struggle to regain its declining popularity. "But it will not likely gain the support of the people," Mr. Lee predicted.

by Lee Sang-il