ID :
24438
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 17:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24438
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Ex-president`s residence at center of political debate
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- Former President Roh Moo-hyun again found himself at the center of a political face off here Tuesday, as the ruling party accused the former government of spending taxpayers' money to create a "luxurious" forest around Roh's home in the southeastern province.
The outspoken ex-president returned to his hometown in Bongha Village, some 400
kilometers southeast of Seoul, after his retirement late February, remaining
mostly low-key on current political issues.
Roh fell in bad terms with the incumbent administration in June when the Blue
House demanded he return confidential presidential records he took to his private
residence.
While Roh claims legal access to the data, which accumulated during his five-year
tenure, the Blue House and the ruling party have called him a thief. Roh
reluctantly handed over the files back to the National Archives in July.
"I have heard roughly 100 billion won was spent from the national budget in
creating the forest around Bongha Village," said Hong Joon-pyo, floor leader of
the ruling Grand National Party. "Does the former president think he owns the
whole area?"
"This is a president who called himself a 'commoner' and demanded tens of
millions of won in taxes from those who own costly houses," Hong added. "The
ongoing parliamentary audit must cover this issue and find out the exact amount
of money spent on creating a cozy home for the former president."
Roh, a populist politician, had introduced the so-called comprehensive real
estate tax which was paid in tandem with ordinary property taxes by high-end
homeowners mostly in the lucrative southern Seoul area.
The incumbent Lee Myung-bak government plans to ease the burden by raising the
threshold on the tax by up to 300 million won (US$250,000), despite strong
objection from opposition parties.
Roh's supporters in the main opposition Democratic Party accuse their rival of
blurring the goal of the ongoing parliamentary audit on the government by making
an issue out of the former president.
"We are inspecting the incumbent government, let's not forget," said Rep. Bae
Won-woo. "The ruling party knows well that the forest in Bongha Village was
formed legally under the national Forest Service's decision."
"Let's be wise and spend the remaining days of the parliamentary audit session on
doing some real work," he added.
The first round of parliamentary audits by South Korea's new National Assembly
opened last week, with parties vowing a "productive" 20-day session inspecting
operations bridging the two governments.
The inspection of 478 government ministries and affiliated organizations,
however, has so far been viewed as far from productive by observers, as parties
have focused mostly on bickering over political and ideological issues.
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- Former President Roh Moo-hyun again found himself at the center of a political face off here Tuesday, as the ruling party accused the former government of spending taxpayers' money to create a "luxurious" forest around Roh's home in the southeastern province.
The outspoken ex-president returned to his hometown in Bongha Village, some 400
kilometers southeast of Seoul, after his retirement late February, remaining
mostly low-key on current political issues.
Roh fell in bad terms with the incumbent administration in June when the Blue
House demanded he return confidential presidential records he took to his private
residence.
While Roh claims legal access to the data, which accumulated during his five-year
tenure, the Blue House and the ruling party have called him a thief. Roh
reluctantly handed over the files back to the National Archives in July.
"I have heard roughly 100 billion won was spent from the national budget in
creating the forest around Bongha Village," said Hong Joon-pyo, floor leader of
the ruling Grand National Party. "Does the former president think he owns the
whole area?"
"This is a president who called himself a 'commoner' and demanded tens of
millions of won in taxes from those who own costly houses," Hong added. "The
ongoing parliamentary audit must cover this issue and find out the exact amount
of money spent on creating a cozy home for the former president."
Roh, a populist politician, had introduced the so-called comprehensive real
estate tax which was paid in tandem with ordinary property taxes by high-end
homeowners mostly in the lucrative southern Seoul area.
The incumbent Lee Myung-bak government plans to ease the burden by raising the
threshold on the tax by up to 300 million won (US$250,000), despite strong
objection from opposition parties.
Roh's supporters in the main opposition Democratic Party accuse their rival of
blurring the goal of the ongoing parliamentary audit on the government by making
an issue out of the former president.
"We are inspecting the incumbent government, let's not forget," said Rep. Bae
Won-woo. "The ruling party knows well that the forest in Bongha Village was
formed legally under the national Forest Service's decision."
"Let's be wise and spend the remaining days of the parliamentary audit session on
doing some real work," he added.
The first round of parliamentary audits by South Korea's new National Assembly
opened last week, with parties vowing a "productive" 20-day session inspecting
operations bridging the two governments.
The inspection of 478 government ministries and affiliated organizations,
however, has so far been viewed as far from productive by observers, as parties
have focused mostly on bickering over political and ideological issues.
