South Korea's political scandals inquest deepened yesterday with President Roh Moo-hyun appointing an independent counsel to investigate corruption allegations against his own aides.
The embattled leader also stood by earlier pledges to step down if his camp amassed more than a 10th of the illegal campaign funds taken by opponents ahead of last year's presidential election.
In a televised address, Roh said he would appoint an independent counsel later yesterday to look into scandals involving three of his former aides. His office later confirmed that a private lawyer had been chosen for the task, from two recommended by the Korean Bar Association.
An earlier effort by Roh to block such an investigation was overruled by the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Roh's remarks came a day after the failed challenger from last December's presidential vote admitted to amassing 50 billion won (US$43 million) in illegal election campaign funds. Lee Hoi-chang -- former head of the opposition Grand National Party -- said he should go to prison for the crime.
Since taking office in February, Roh has been besieged with scandals involving former aides.
To bolster his mandate amid plummeting popularity, he has proposed a referendum on his tenure and vowed to step down if he fares poorly. At the same time, he asked prosecutors to investigate how much money each party reaped from businesses ahead of last December's vote.
Late last month Roh vetoed legislation calling for an independent investigation into his former aides, saying that a probe currently under way by state prosecutors has yet to finish. An outraged Grand National Party said state prosecutors could not be trusted and overrode the veto in a landmark vote.
Roh said he would submit himself to independent investigation "without protest," if another special probe is launched into illegal presidential campaign funds.
"I am confident that our camp did not receive more than one 10th of illegal campaign funds the Grand National Party received," Roh said.
Over the weekend, prosecutors arrested a Roh confidant on charges of collecting US$950,000 in illegal funds for the president's campaign. Prosecutors suspected the aide, Ahn Hee-jung, of violating political funding laws.
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