Alleged Violations of Election Law by President Roh

Chairperson of the National Election Commission (NEC) Goh Hyeon-cheol will decide on June 7 at a plenary session whether president Roh violated the election law with regard to his strong critique of the Grand National Party and its presidential candidates in a lecture at a government evaluation forum on June 2.

An official from the NEC said on June 4, “If the matter has precedent, it could be decided under an authoritative interpretation, but with respect to a critical matter or a matter with no precedent, it would be usually decided through the commission’s general meeting.”

The commission has made inquiries about whether Roh violated election law by collecting his speech script and a movie file from the lecture

The Grand National Party (GNP) has also decided to accuse the forum of violating the election law by forming a private organization.

The GNP decided to prosecute Roh and the forum for election law violations at the party’s supreme council meeting.

The main opposition party argued that President Roh violated articles 9 and 60 of the election law, which state officials’ obligations to stay neutral in elections, and articles 85 and 86, which ban election campaigning by government officials. The GNP says that the forum will be subjected to Article 87, which bans organizational support to political parties.

GNP representative Kang Jae-sup warned that, “President Roh should keep his hands off the upcoming presidential election to avoid misfortune.”

With regard to the violation issue, Cheong Wa Dae rebutted, “The GNP has tried to avoid fair questioning and has concealed the truth.”

Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Cheon Ho-seon announced, “A debate between president Roh and presidential candidates is needed to find out the candidates’ political development direction and whether election pledges are met.”

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