hankyoreh

By Seong Yeon-cheol

Grand National Party regional council head Ahn Byeong-yong made allegations Friday of involvement by the party's Park Geun-hye wing in his investigation by prosecutors. Ahn is under investigation for allegedly distributing money envelopes to district council members at the time of the July 7 GNP convention and ordering their distribution to the secretaries-general of various regional councils.
"The current situation is essentially a skirmish with the aim of bringing down Lee Jae-oh," Ahn said.
Speaking at a press conference in his constituency office Friday, Ahn said, "The general outline has begun to be sketched in now for a plan to do away with general election rivals in the name of reform, going on about how I'm an associate of Lee Jae-oh, and nominate [GNP emergency measures committee chairwoman] Park Geun-hye as the sole candidate."
"Since there have been press reports and tip-offs about money envelopes being passed around during the 2007 [GNP] leadership contest, I hope to see Chairwoman Park asking prosecutors to investigate this, too, since she's supposed to be an honest and principled leader," Ahn added.
While Ahn declined to give specifics about the "particular forces" he referred do, observers said he was clearly taking aim at Park and her wing of the GNP.
Ahn is known to refer to himself around the party as an associate of Lee Jae-oh.
"I didn't talk about the press conference because I was worried it would be a hassle for Rep. Lee," Ahn said.
The Park wing was outraged. Lawmaker Suh Byung-soo said, "This situation started accidentally with Koh Seung-deok's remarks about money envelopes at a convention, and the emergency measures committee was naturally obliged to take stern measures."
"The idea of calling this a 'conspiracy by particular forces' is a politically expedient notion that is steeped in political maneuvering," Suh added.
Members of the Park wing indicated that they felt no need to feed the controversy by responding.
Members of the party's Lee Myung-bak wing also demonstrated a reluctance to establish battle lines.
A pro-Lee lawmaker said, "Mr. Ahn simply voiced his personal frustrations, although the part about a 'factional conspiracy' was a bit much."
The two factions' distaste for one another was obvious. Members of the Park wing contended that Lee Jae-oh was behind Ahn's press conference, while pro-Lee lawmakers contended that Ahn was not incorrect in his statements.
With evidence that the money envelope controversy is poised to turn into a time-worn factional conflict, a Seoul-area lawmaker said, "The party is getting out of control. It's turning into pandemonium, and it's looking like we should just shut the door."

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]