By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter

President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday acknowledged his camp used more than 1 billion won ($833,000) for the presidential nomination race of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) in 2002.

Roh’s admission is expected to significantly impact the political sector in the lead-up to the general elections in April, as the election law stipulates the nomination campaign should not exceed 600 million won.

``Upon finalizing my nomination, I asked campaign officials on the money spent and they came up with more than 1 billion won,’’ Roh said.

Roh also called on the nation to show its support for the pro-government Uri Party in the upcoming general elections so that he can govern effectively during the remainder of his term.

``I believe the people who elected me president will clearly be able to show, through their votes in the National Assembly elections, whether they want to give me their backing, so that I can properly deal with state affairs in the next four years of my presidency, or want me to step down,’’ he said.

``I expect that people will show their strong support for the Uri Party in these legislative elections,’’ Roh said during a conference hosted by the Korean Broadcasting Journalists’ Club at the new SBS headquarters building in Mokdong.

It is the first time Roh has made a direct and clear appeal for public support for the Uri Party. He has yet to join the party, apparently due to concerns about the potential effect it will have on the outcome of the elections, but he reconfirmed that he will delay joining as much as possible.

The Uri Party, which consists of supporters of the president, has been leading in recent polls, moving well ahead of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

But despite the party’s rising popularity, Roh is facing growing criticism and received poor marks for his performance in several recent opinion polls.

Roh said he has not been engaging in party affairs and will defer to the party leadership on the nomination of candidates for the elections.

He renewed his earlier pledge to give the people an opportunity to show their opinion of his leadership through a confidence vote after the polls.

``It is necessary to hold a confidence vote but it has not been easy to do so due to opposition from political parties. However, because it was a promise to the people, I will look for ways of holding such a vote after the legislative polls,’’ he said.

Regarding allegations of his involvement in illegal fund-raising activities during the 2002 presidential campaign, Roh said that his spending was the lowest in the nation’s history.

``Whoever stands in a presidential election, it is inevitable that they will have to spend a considerable amount of political funds, but I can still confidently say that I spent the smallest amount ever,’’ he said.

Roh denied suggestions that there could be inter-Korean summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in the near future.

``Of course, there would be marked progress in inter-Korean relations if the leaders of the two sides meet directly. But now is not the proper time, given various circumstances such as the ongoing talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program,’’ he said.

Touching on the controversy over the planned relocation of the nation’s administrative capital to an area south of Seoul, he indicated that he is willing to hold a national referendum if necessary.

jayshim@koreatimes.co.kr