[EDITORIALS]Suspicions continue

Considerable parts of what President Kim Dae-jung said Monday in his talk with reporters covering the Blue House made us wonder whether he was telling the truth or if he knew the true nature of things that he was talking about. In particular, he volunteered to have the talk to apologize for and to explain the scandals involving his sons, who are in prison awaiting trials. It is regrettable that the talk could not rid the public of distrust.

President Kim said, "I hadn't received any information about the scandals from intelligence agencies. I regret that." But his words are completely contradictory to what Kim Eun-seong, a former director of domestic intelligence at the National Intelligence Service, and Kwon Roh-kap, a former adviser of the Millennium Democratic Party had said. Mr. Kim said that he was insulted after he reported to the Blue House in detail on President's third son, Kim Hong-gul, and Choi Gyu-seon. Mr. Kwon said, "I reported to the president what Mr. Kim told me. The president asked me to admonish them." Taking common sense into consideration, Mr. Kim and Mr. Kwon's words are trustworthy. Intelligence agencies should have known what the public knew about corrupt activities by the president's sons. We cannot imagine that the intelligence agencies have not reported those things to the Blue House. If President Kim is telling the truth, he must have been sealed off by his secretaries. If that was the case, it is a very serious problem in terms of national management by the government. Before trying to mend the system, those who blocked free communication to the president should be punished first.

Regarding the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation, the President's wish to comprehensively overhaul and relaunch it seems out of the blue. He hasn't said a word about the foundation that has been seen as a hotbed of political scandal by the public. Instead, he said that he could do nothing about the foundation since it is a nonprofit organization. He sounded strange and contradictory. He keeps talking about the foundation without explaining where the foundation's money was raised and how it was used. President Kim pledged, "For the rest of my term I will be in charge without any distractions." It would be essential for the future of the country and the president to rid the people of any suspicions by revealing the whole truth.