A parliamentary investigation into Lee’s “resource diplomacy”?

Posted on : 2014-11-24 15:26 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Former president was briefed on possibility of investigations into his misuses of public funds
 Lee Si-hyung
Lee Si-hyung

A few days before former president Lee Myung-bak departed on a trip to the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 21, he was briefed on the situation inside the Saenuri Party (NFP) by party legislators who are loyal to him.

The lawmakers reported that the opposition party was strongly pushing for parliamentary investigations targeting the Lee administration, including the Four Major Rivers Project, resource diplomacy, and corruption in the defense industry. They also hinted that the Saenuri Party leadership might give in to some of these demands.

Nevertheless, the lawmakers told Lee not to worry, since there was no chance that the party leadership would cooperate with a parliamentary probe into the Four Major Rivers Project. After Lee responded with relief to these consoling remarks, he boarded a plane on a four day trip to the Arab Emirates with Ryu Woo-ik, his first presidential secretary, and Gwak Seung-jun, former chair of the future planning board.

The pro-Lee lawmakers’ assurance that there would be no parliamentary investigation into the Four Major Rivers Project was the product of deliberation with the Saenuri Party’s floor leadership.

The legislators forcefully expressed their view to the party leadership that they should not give in to the demands of the opposition party, which had written off the Four Major Rivers Project as a failure from the very beginning, because it had been one of Lee’s campaign pledges.

Reportedly, the Saenuri Party’s floor leaders have their reasons for going along with the lawmakers’ proposal. They are concerned that, if they enrage the pro-Lee faction by accepting opposition demands for a parliamentary investigation of the Four Major Rivers Project, they will lose the momentum for dealing with pressing business of government, including reorganizing the pension system for public servants, reforming state-owned enterprises and government regulations, and pushing through various bills.

The pro-Lee faction believes that a parliamentary probe into resource diplomacy has less potential to cause a rift inside the party than the Four Major Rivers Project and that it would also be easier to deflect attacks from the opposition party on that issue.

For one, resource diplomacy involved a wide range of figures who are loyal both to former president Lee and to current president Park Geun-hye. In addition to Lee Sang-deuk, Saenuri Party legislator and Lee’s older brother, and Park Yeong-jun, former Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy, Choi Kyung-hwan, who served as Minister of Knowledge Economy under the Lee administration, also took part in resource diplomacy. Choi is a member of the pro-Park camp and current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

“By definition, resource diplomacy takes a long time to get results, and not all of the investments that are made will be successful. If we start digging up dirt on the Lee administration’s resource diplomacy, figures from the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations will also have to stand before the parliamentary probe,” said one veteran lawmaker who is loyal to Lee, on condition of anonymity.

“The office of the prime minister was put in charge of resource diplomacy from the beginning of Lee’s presidency, and the Blue House did not oversee these efforts. There are concerns that corruption occurred in areas that the Blue House was not expecting, but there is nothing for Lee to be too concerned about,” said one close associate of former president Lee.

Despite signs such as these that the floor leadership of the Saenuri Party and the pro-Park faction are nearing an agreement to reject a parliamentary investigation of the Four Major Rivers Project, former President Lee and his associates are reportedly not letting their guard down and are keeping an eye on the situation in the National Assembly.

“Lee has no objection to investigating and prosecuting corruption, whether it is in the Four Major Rivers Project or resource diplomacy. However, he thinks it is wrong for the opposition to make political attacks on projects he was involved with or for the Park administration to drag him into the picture in order to get out of its own problems,” said one close associate of Lee who saw the former president recently.

“Lee is uncomfortable with the idea of swapping a parliamentary investigation for reorganization of the public servant pension system. If they need to carry out a parliamentary probe, they should go ahead with that,” another associate said.

Some of Lee’s associates also feel that it is time to take a harder line and to start speaking out.

“Whether it‘s the Four Major Rivers Project or resource diplomacy, if a parliamentary investigation is carried out to humiliate Lee, it will cause massive division in the party,” one veteran lawmaker in the Lee camp.

“We have been refraining from making comments to allow the Park administration to become established, but depending on what happens we may have to speak up and tell it like it is,” said one associate of the former president.

Associates of Lee argue that he has strengthened his solidarity with ministers and vice ministers from his time in office, presidential campaign staff, Blue House advisors, and current and former lawmakers through various social gatherings and regular meetings connected with writing his memoirs.

 

By Hwang Joon-beom, staff reporter

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