By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun Tuesday expressed regret over alleged influence-peddling scandals involving his top aides.
``I'm quite embarrassed. I'm speechless to see two of former presidential secretaries being involved in scandalous cases," he told reporters at Cheong Wa Dae.
The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) urged Roh to apologize for the scandal.
Roh dismissed his chief national policy secretary Byeon Yang-kyoon Monday for having maintained improper relations with Shin Jeong-ah, former art professor at Dongguk University in Seoul who is now on the wanted list for fabricating her academic degrees. Byeon, 58, has been accused of protecting Shin.
Roh's protocol secretary, Jung Yun-jae, resigned last month after the prosecution confirmed that Jung had arranged a controversial meeting over dinner between the head of the Busan Regional Tax Office and a corrupt builder operating in the southern port city.
Roh said it is an issue requiring the President's apology. But he said, ``The important thing is that nothing has been confirmed yet.''
He hinted that the presidential office would not make an apology until the prosecution announces its investigation results. ``The case is irrelevant with leakage or abuse of power.''
But Roh said although he was confident about his judgments thus far, ``because of Byeon's case, I've lost confidence in my judgment. I'm go ing through a difficult time.''
The presidential office said Monday that Byeon maintained romantic relations with Shin for several years since they first met and Shin presented herself as a fellow graduate of Yale University.
The 35-year-old Shin rocked the country after revelations that she had become an art professor at Dongguk University in 2005 with a fabricated Yale doctorate.
GNP spokeswoman Na Kyung-won did not rule out the possibility that presidential contender Lee Hae-chan of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) might have been implicated in the degree fake scandal.
Na urged the prosecution to investigation the case thoroughly.
The GNP spokeswoman, arguing that Roh tried to cover up the scandal, called on Roh to apologize for the case.
Political observers speculate that with the presidential election just three months away, the scandal could deal a fatal blow to the Roh government, depending on the results of further investigation.
Roh's five-year single presidential term expires next February. He cannot seek reelection under the Constitution.
Byeon's suspected relationship with Shin first surfaced when a senior Buddhist monk disclosed last month that Byeon had pressured him to help the disgraced art professor cling to her professorship and her co-director job at the Gwangju Biennale.
Byeon was also found to have made an international call in early July to discuss Shin's situation with the Buddhist monk while accompanying Roh on a trip to Guatemala.