At a Grand National Assembly question and answer session of the Culture and Tourism Committee, lawmaker Park Chong-ung stated that the book by a Hankyoreh reporter confirmed the truth of a government plot to suppress the media using National Tax Service staff from a certain area. Park said that the book exposed the fact that the NTS was acting under orders from President Kim Dae-jung to control the media, which was unconstitutional and an impeachable offence.
Park called for President Kim and the prime minister to apologize and take responsibility for deceiving the people with their constant claims that the NTS investigation was for "justice in taxation."
GNP member Nam Kyong-pil, citing a report that Millennium Democratic Party Secretary General Kim Myong-seop had advised NTS staff to reduce the amount of back tax levied on media companies, said this was evidence the ruling party was under the impression that it could raise or lower fines in any way it wished for any purpose. Nam asked whether the controversial Cheong Wa Dae secretary who had said that the government replaced NTS people with Honam natives for the purpose of the investigation, and that it would destroy critical newspapers using inheritance tax, was Park Jie-won.
Minister Namgoong Jin replied that the allegations in the book had yet to be confirmed and no secretary was named in it, adding that the government had no means to suppress press freedom, which was guaranteed at unheard of levels during this administration. Other MDP members defended the minister and government, saying that newspapers had quoted the book out of context.
(Choi Byong-mook, bmchoi@chosun.com)
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