Broken promises

The Grand National Party is asking Lee Myung-bak to veto the independent counsel’s investigation. That is an unreasonable demand.
Kang Jae-sup, the chairman of the party, maintains that to attack the president-elect in a setting similar to a hearing is below-the-belt political maneuvering that will divide the people. Park Hee-tae, a senior advisor with the party, claims that the bill to form an independent counsel was for political purposes and that the bill is redundant now that the election is over
Lee won overwhelming support, 48.6 percent of the votes, in the election this week. Senior members of the party seem to believe that this landslide victory has changed the situation surrounding the independent counsel’s investigation.
But they are wrong. Lee said that he would accept the findings of any investigation prior to the presidential election. The party responded to the bill by not participating in the vote.
Lee has now been elected and the investigation is his first promise to keep. After the votes were counted, Lee said he would serve the people humbly.
But the leaders of the party seemed to break the promise overnight. The election is one thing and the law is another, they seem to say.
As stated before, Lee himself said he would accept the independent counsel’s investigation.
We know there are concerns regarding the investigation, and the next 60 days are very important for the new administration as it prepares for office. The investigation might make it difficult for the new administration to take over power, but the independent counsel and the president-elect will be able to cope.
But the fact of the matter is, there are still suspicions hanging over the president-elect. The inauguration cannot take place under such a cloud.
If Lee has told the truth, the independent counsel will relieve him of his burden, and the new president will be able to open the door to a new era.
The Grand National Party maintains that the circumstances have changed, including that Kim Kyung-joon earlier said prosecutors offered him deals and threatened him during the investigation, then later said none of that was true.
But prosecutors’ alleged deals and threats are only a part of the investigation. The rest remains the same. Lee said he would accept the probe, but his party thinks and acts differently.