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Today's ("left"-liberal) Hankyoreh published following article:

DLP investigation issue strengthening

opposition party solidarity

DLP members hold a press conference to voice opposition to the search and seizure

conducted on DLP’s server at their headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 8.

Participants at a meeting of four opposition party chairs Monday morning expressed their anger arising from the police investigation of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). The chairs, representing the DLP, the Democratic Party (DP), the New Progressive Party (NPP) and the Creative Korea Party (CKP), reportedly were unanimous in their criticism of the investigation, saying that the investigation of DLP members, on the heels of investigations of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and former CKP chair Moon Kook-hyun, smacks of a targeted campaign against opposition parties.

Criticisms also rained down at a meeting of the DP Supreme Council Monday morning. Council member Park Joo-sun said, “Just as it is not acceptable to conduct a brain exam and open up a patient who comes in for treatment with a wound on the hand, we cannot accept this excessive investigation of the DLP.” Park added, “In 1987, when the opposition United Democratic Party was founded, the Roh Tae-woo administration hired gangsters to block the assembly.” Park continued, “Is this the Lee Myung-bak administration’s ‘Yongpal incident redux’” Youngpal, a gang leader, was hired by the former authoritarian administration to intimidate and destroy the general assembly meetings of opposition parties.

In the afternoon, DP spokesman Woo Sang-ho devoted about half of his remarks to the issue. “According to media reports, teachers and teachers’ groups supporting the Grand National Party (GNP) have paid untold amounts of contributions and engaged in all kinds of support activities for the GNP over the past seven or eight years,” Woo said. “Why are they not being investigated?”

Woo added, “In keeping with the equity of its investigations of the DLP and the Korean Teachers and Education Workers‘ Union, the Lee Myung-bak administration needs to immediately carry out a search and seizure on GNP-leaning teachers’ groups and the GNP itself.”

This marks the first time opposition parties have joined forces to fight a particular issue since last August, when the DP and DLP formed a joint fact-finding committee to investigation allegations about the Defense Security Command’s (DSC) civilian surveillance. At the time, their activities were buried by the confirmation hearing for Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and the parliamentary audit of the administration and failed to conclude as they had hoped. This time, however, their response differs in its intensity.

During the previous incident, the DSC had suspected the ideology of members of the DLP and monitored them to see if they were violating the National Security Act, and other opposition parties that were not particularly concerned about ideological arguments kept their criticisms at a basic level. In this incident, however, the other opposition parties are perceiving the investigation as their own issue and pursuing direct action. Monday’s meeting among the four opposition party chairs reportedly took place at the suggestion of DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun. Spokesman Woo said, “If the police get their hands on the party register and begin to summon people one by one, who will want to be part of the opposition? People will be too scared.”

Woo added, “If this type of incident took place among our local constituencies, only a third of our party members would remain.”

Also readily lending its support was the NPP, which has maintained awkward relations with the DLP since their split in 2008. NPP Chairman Roh Hoi-chan visited the DLP headquarters on Monday and strongly voiced criticism of the Lee administration to DLP Chairman Kang Ki-kab. Roh said, “During the time of progressive adminstrations, the police did not go about breaking into party headquarters and snatching party registers.” Kang responded, “I can now see that internal solidarity comes about when external troubles arise. Thank you for coming here first.”

Kang also said, “If you tread on the barley roots in the cold winter so that they do not freeze, the barley will rise up bright green in the spring. We must respond together in the same way.”

This activity also appears likely to have positive effects on the opposition party election coalition currently being discussed ahead of this year’s regional elections. DLP spokesman Woo Wi-young said, “What use is it trying to do a good job when an election is around the corner?” Woo added, “Our cooperation in the regional elections can only produce a synergy effect when we are on good terms ordinarily, provide mutual support when times are tough, and build up trust.”

In view of this, some analysts are saying that the proactive response by the DP, the primary opposition party, will be of considerable help in achieving solidarity among opposition parties and unity between progressive camps and camps supporting reform.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/403735.html

 
Today's protest/press conference in front of the S.K. parliament in Seoul/Yeouido (source: KCTU)
 

Today's (bourgeois) Korea Herald reports following:

Arrest warrant issued for DLP official 

 
The court (today) issued the arrest warrant on Oh Byeong-yoon, secretary general of the minority Democratic Labor Party, on charges of destroying the evidence of the alleged collusion between labor unions and the party.

Oh is suspected of receiving and hiding two sets of computer hard disks containing proof that labor union members illicitly participated in votes, according to officials.

Investigators suspect that other party members were involved in the act and will seek their arrest warrants as well, said officials.

The police last month raised the investigation on illicit political fund allegations of the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers and the Korean Government Employees' Unions.

Government officials or teachers are forbidden to join political parties or to raise political funds, according to the Constitution and the civil servant law.

While leading the investigation on 800 KTEU members who breached the National Security Law by issuing an antigovernment statement last July, investigators found evidence of illegal political activity involving 290 members.

During the investigation, 120 members were found out to have joined the party and many even participated in the party vote for its officials, said police officials.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/10/201002100031.asp

Related report:
☞ 민주노동당 사무총장 체포영장 발부 (KCTU, 2.09)