Kim tells Roh to keep the courts out of the cash-for-summit affair

President Roh Moo-hyun ate a Chinese dinner with his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, yesterday. The former president stressed the importance of resolving the North Korean nuclear problem peacefully, and Mr. Roh mainly listened.
South Korea must insist that any resolution of the North Korean issue be by peaceful means, Mr. Kim said, according to the Blue House spokeswoman, Song Kyoung-hee.
The current and former presidents met for a 90-minute meal at the Blue House with their wives, the first meeting of the two men since Mr. Roh’s inauguration on Feb. 25.
The topics of conversation were far from lighthearted, Ms. Song said, ranging from tension on the Korean Peninsula because of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to the investigation into the transfer of cash to the North in 2000.
Mr. Kim reiterated the position he expressed before leaving office that the Hyundai Group and former senior government officials’ involvement in the transfer of $500 million to the North just before that year’s inter-Korean summit should not be dealt with by the country’s legal system.
“There is no change to my position on that,” Mr. Kim said, as reported by Ms. Song.
The JoongAng Daily on Saturday reported new allegations of an additional $300 million in payments to the North through Hyundai Merchant Marine under government pressure. It quoted senior Hyundai Group officials.
The North Korean nuclear problem concerns the lives of 70 million people here, Mr. Kim reportedly said, citing that as justification for South Korea to take “the leading role” in a peaceful resolution of the issue.
Mr. Roh said he agreed with the remarks and would keep them in mind, Ms. Song said.
The Grand National Party criticized the meeting, calling it a ploy to win the votes of Jeolla province natives in by-elections in the capital region on Thursday.
Mr. Kim is from that region, in Korea’s southwest.

by Choi Hoon