Pro-Park lawmaker under fire over NLL Rep. Kim Moo-sung, right, a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker, pats Rep. Kim Jae-won of the same party on the back after accepting his apology regarding rumors of Rep. Kim Moo-sung over the NLL at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap By Chung Min-uck Rep. Kim Moo-sung, political heavyweight of the ruling Saenuri Party and close aide of President Park Geun-hye, came under fire, Friday, for allegedly acquiring the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit before the Dec. 19 presidential election. He is accused of illegally acquiring the confidential summit transcripts that contain late President Roh Moo-hyun’s controversial remarks on the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto western sea border between the two Koreas. He is suspected of having used the minutes to launch a smear campaign against the then main opposition Democratic Party (DP) candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in. Rep. Moon served as presidential chief of staff to the late President Roh. President Park defeated Rep. Moon in the presidential election by a slim margin of 3 percent. Whether Roh really made concessions regarding the NLL during his talks with late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2007 was one of the major issues in last year’s presidential election. Reportedly, Rep. Kim, during a meeting of senior Saenuri lawmakers earlier this week, said he was “surprised when reading the transcripts of the 2007 inter-Korean summit before the presidential election.” Rep. Kim further said that he “asked then NIS chief Won Sei-hoon to disclose the transcripts but failed as Won refused to do so.” The contents of the summit were classified until, on Monday, when the National Intelligence Service (NIS) disclosed the transcripts, saying it was compelled to do so in order to quell the ongoing parliamentary rows over the NLL. The pro-Park political heavyweight denied the reports but suspicions persist. “Rep. Kim’s statement made on Dec. 14 when campaigning for then presidential candidate Park Geun-hye is so similar to the original version of the transcripts,” said Rep. Park Beom-kye, a lawmaker of the DP, Thursday. “Rep. Kim must have read the original transcripts.” The DP lawmaker further criticized President Park for allegedly manipulating the scheme. “Throughout the presidential campaign, President Park raised issues about the NLL,” said the opposition lawmaker. “It is a violation of the election law.” The DP is planning to indict Rep. Kim and Kwon Young-se, a close aide of President Park who is also accused of accessing the minutes before the presidential election. Kwon is currently serving as ambassador to China. Observers say the accusation will likely deal a blow to Rep. Kim who is hoping to become the next chairman of the Saenuri Party, backed by his strong connection with President Park. Reflecting his clout in the party, Rep. Kim Jae-won, a Saenuri lawmaker, on Friday, in an unusual manner, offered an apology via text messages to the political heavyweight denying rumors that the former had leaked the latter's remarks on NLL to the media. His apologetic text message sent to Kim’s cell phone was made public by a photo journalist, embarrassing the two. Meanwhile, in the written record, Roh was quoted as saying in a dialogue with the late Kim Jong-il that the NLL should be “changed” into a “peace and cooperation zone.” Saenuri lawmakers have long argued that Roh tried to compromise the western sea border during the summit, although, it was known to the public after the disclosure that Roh never directly mentioned giving up the borderline. muchung@koreatimes.co.kr