By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

The majority Grand National Party (GNP) on Thursday urged President Roh Moo-hyun to come clean on corruption allegations involving his aides after the prosecution announced that Chong Wa Dae official Yeo Taek-soo received 30 million won ($25,000) in slush funds ahead of last year’s presidential election.

GNP spokesman Park Jin said Roh should personally explain the allegation that he wined and dined Moon Byung-wook, the now-detained chairman of Sun & Moon Group, right after his inauguration on Feb. 25 to express his gratitude for Moon’s financial help.

``Roh should confess to all the secretive dealings immediately,’’ Park said. He claimed the special treatment was given to thank Moon for offering illegal funds through Yeo and Lee Kwang-jae, another close confidant of Roh.

Yeo took the money from Moon just before the Dec. 19 poll, when he accompanied the then-candidate during campaign tours to Pusan and the Kyongsang provinces. Nicknamed Roh’s ``right hand,’’ Lee also admitted to accepting 100 million won from Moon after prosecutors’ interrogation last week. Ahn Hee-jung, dubbed Roh’s ``left hand,’’ has already been arrested for similar charges.

Roh, who pledged to be the nation’s cleanest head of state, has been embarrassed by the recent revelations involving his young aides.

Chong Wa Dae tried to defend the troubled aides as things grew more serious. Ryu In-tae, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said the situation was caused only because they failed to issue receipts for the donations properly. ``Their mistakes caused the current situation,’’ he said.

The pro-Roh Uri Party argued the recent events proved the fairness of the prosecution’s probe.

However, the opposition GNP, which insists the prosecution has unfairly singled it out, is not slackening its offensive. It held a protest rally in front of the National Assembly and plans more demonstrations today.

In the meantime, Justice Minister Kang Kum-sil told the Assembly that the state prosecution is continuing to investigate presidential aides and will soon produce substantial findings. She didn’t rule out the possibility of prosecutors’ quizzing the president, though opinions on that are divided inside the prosecution.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr