SPLIT OPINIONS ON SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE

[Anchor Lead]

Four figures have been indicted in the Seongnam land development scandal but both ruling and opposition parties are neither satisfied. Despite calls for a special counsel probe, formal talks have yet to begin. Rival parties have different ideas on what to investigate and how to form a special counsel team.

[Pkg]

The presidential candidates of both the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party have assessed the prosecution's investigation of the land development scandal as insufficient. Lee Jae-myung criticized prosecutors for wasting time and not looking hard enough into opposition officials. Yoon Seok-youl said the mastermind behind the Daejang-dong Gate is still hiding wrongdoing and deceiving the public. As rival camps are not happy with the investigation result, a probe led by a special prosecutor is the conclusion reached by both sides. But they are engaged in a war of nerves with little progress in substantive talks to make that happen. The ruling DP wants to expand the special counsel probe’s scope to include allegations surrounding Yoon Seok-youl, such as allegations related to Busan Savings Bank and the sale of his father’s home.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP presidential candidate) : "Allegations that Hwacheondaeyu officials bought a home for Yoon’s father should be looked into..."

In a phone interview, a PPP official said bringing everything into the investigation is essentially opposing an independent counsel probe and blasted the DP for playing on words. Both sides also differ on the format of investigation. The DP calls for a standing counsel probe and the PPP a separate counsel probe. The two methods are different in appointing counsel team members. The former is more advantageous to the ruling party in the composition of the team makeup. It’s also faster to launch.

[Soundbite] Yoon Seok-youl(PPP presidential candidate) : "There’s a difference between the existing law and a separate law introduced by parliament for this occasion."

Meanwhile a DP official said the way insisted by the PPP is the same as allowing a burglar to appoint the police chief. In other words, the PPP wants the probe only zero in on Lee Jae-myung. There are many other areas rival parties need to hammer out such as the political meddling scandal involving Yoon and which side will have the power to appoint the independent counsel. It’s unclear when negotiations can begin as both camps are indulged in political calculations.