PARTIES FEUD OVER KIM SEONG-TAE’S ARREST

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Rival parties are locking horns over the arrest of former Ssangbangwool chair Kim Sung-tae. The ruling People Power Party claimed that Democratic Party representative Lee Jae-myung carried out 'act of treason' based on allegations that Kim's funds were delivered to North Korea, in which the Democratic Party responded by denouncing the prosecution's investigations, calling it nothing more than an attempt to take out a political opponent.

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Following Kim Seong-tae's arrest, the ruling People Power Party stressed that the former chair of Ssangbangwool Group is the key to the suspected irregularities involving the main opposition Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung. Regarding allegations that Kim's funds were delivered to North Korea via Gyeonggi-do Province under Lee's watch when he was governor, the PPP blasted the suspicion as an "act of treason by a provincial authority on a completely different level." They stressed that it constitutes a crime of taking side with the enemy. This particular crime applies to those who join hands with enemy forces to stand against their own country. Having never been applied since the Korean War, the only possible sentencing option to this crime is the death penalty.

[Soundbite] Chung Jin-suk(PPP Emergency Committee chief) : "This can be summed as Lee’s Gyeonggi-do Prov. together with Kim’s Ssangbangwool giving bribes to Kim Yong-chol, the mastermind behind the Cheonan sinking."

The ruling party also called for uncovering the truth behind allegations that Kim paid Lee's legal fees by proxy. Meanwhile the main opposition DP denounced the prosecution's series of investigations as nothing more than an attempt to take out a political opponent. It said that even during past authoritarian regimes, there has never been an incident where the opposition leader was publicly humiliated and insulted to this degree.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "This is a prosecution-concocted infinite loop where someone’s word becomes a fact and strangers turned into friends. No one can escape from this loop."

Meanwhile the prosecution and the DP are in a tug of war after Lee expressed plans to appear for questioning on January 28 in connection to the Daejang-dong development scandal. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Lee's unilateral announcement was made without consultation with investigators, and that he has been notified about the need to be questioned at least twice due to the vast amount of information that needs to be examined. Lee's side is not happy with this idea saying there is no reason to comply with two divided summons. They noted that the initial summons request received from the prosecution indicated a one-day session.