Kim backs down on spending furor

Kim backs down on spending furor

SEOUL (Reuter): South Korea's beleaguered President, Kim Young-sam, bowed to public pressure yesterday and agreed to make a national address on the explosive issue of his 1992 election spending.

Last week Kim had appeared to rule out any public statement, but his refusal to comment sparked public outrage and veiled calls for his resignation.

Opposition parties allege that his campaign was partly bankrolled by the scandal-hit Hanbo Group and far exceeded legal spending limits. On Monday, they demanded parliament organize an independent inquiry, and called on Kim to apologize.

A presidential Blue House spokesman said Kim would make a statement on Friday.

"The national address will deal with the election fund issue, but don't try to guess the exact content," an aide to spokesman Yoon Yeo-joon quoted him as saying.

Kim was quoted as saying last week that campaign finance records no longer existed, and that raking up the issue would only drag the country into deeper turmoil.

Kim called on all political parties to show "apologetic feelings" for past abuses, and work to reform the system.

Angered by those comments, opposition leaders warned that South Koreans might demand his resignation, without themselves calling on him to step down.

Political analysts said an apology for alleged over-spending, and a statement on where the cash came from, may be the only way for Kim to save his presidency.

A newspaper poll yesterday showed 83.3 percent of South Koreans insisted Kim must reveal how much he spent on getting elected, a move that analysts said could shred his remaining credibility, but stave off demands for his resignation.

The same survey in the Dong-a Ilbo indicated that 65.1 percent of Koreans were against the president stepping down.

The collapse of Hanbo's steelmaking unit in January uncovered a web of corruption involving top aides to Kim and his son, Kim Hyun-chul, who was arrested this month.

The president apologized on television in February for the behavior of his son, and said he felt shame.

Spending limits for presidential candidates in 1992 were set at 36.7 billion won (US$41.2 million).

Allegations that Kim Young-sam's campaign took money corruptly from businessmen are particularly damaging to the president, who initiated moves to jail his two immediate predecessors on similar charges.

Shin Myung-soon, a professor of politics at Yonsei University, said the president had no choice but to apologize. Yet the move was fraught with danger.

"If Kim apologizes over the election funds, there is a danger that his opponents may take it further and demand a full investigation," he said.

An editorial in the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's leading newspaper, said Kim should "first address the people and explain the past situation of the election funds".

"We all know that a detailed account of the election funds is like an atomic bomb," the editorial added. "It could deal a fatal blow to Kim's credibility and his morality."