By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A ruling party lawmaker urged President Lee Myung-bak, Thursday, to adopt a zero-tolerance policy when dealing with the alleged sex-for-favors case involving two presidential aides.
The scandal has prompted women lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and other parties to seek a coordinated effort to fight the practice.
``Lee should take appropriate, stern measures to make sure that a similar incident does not recur during his term,'' said Rep. Park Soon-ja of the GNP.
Women lawmakers were indignant over what Liberty Forward Party (LFP) spokeswoman Park Sun-young called a ``sex scandal.''
They contended that the scandal was not a matter of personal ethics of public servants in question but a shameful practice of using sex for lobbying in politics.
The reaction came after police arrested a presidential office staff member, identified only as Kim, for allegedly having sexual relations with a bar hostess paid for by a lobbyist in a motel in Seoul last week.
Kim, who was caught during a police crackdown on the sex trade there, was fired shortly after the case was reported to the presidential office.
According to police, a ranking official of cable TV network T-Broad treated two presidential aides, including Kim and a Korea Communications Commission official, at a restaurant, and then paid for them to spend a night with call girls in nearby motels.
``There is no doubt that the former presidential aide was involved in an inappropriate relationship. But a more serious problem is that police tried to cover up the case,'' Park said.
Park was referring to the police's unwillingness to investigate whether or not the T-Broad official was attempting to use sex to lobby for his business.
Police said its investigation mainly focused on whether or not there was a financial transaction for sex, which is banned under current law, and that lobbying was a secondary issue.
Members of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Affairs Committee asked President Lee to apologize for the case.
Lee has not offered an apology, but his chief of staff Chung Chung-kil apologized to the people for the scandal.
Committee members also urged police to investigate the case thoroughly, warning them not to attempt to cover it up.
Rep. Choi Young-hee of the DP, meanwhile, called on other lawmakers to collaborate in forming a parliamentary task force to investigate the case.