President-elect Lee Myung-bak said Thursday that whoever alleged he was involved in the BBK stock price manipulation scandal “will have responsibility to bear” if the independent counsel on BBK finds that he is innocent. It was a statement so harsh you had a hard time believing it was something someone could say the day after being elected president. Sure, he has to have felt agonized by the case to have said such a thing, but it is unseemly to have the first thing a president-elect say be a threat relating to his personal circumstances.
He never even needed to bring it up himself. Grand National Party chairman Kang Jae-sup had already been on the radio saying that it “would be nice if President Roh Moo-hyun used his veto power to reject the bill (to appoint an independent counsel) for the sake of national unity.” Kang’s comment would have been ample enough by itself in conveying the thinking of the president-elect and his party. To then have Lee himself say something that makes you think about reprisals is enough to wonder how the transfer of power will go and about the time ahead until the National Assembly election in April. In his first interview after winning the election, Lee had talked about “reconciliation and unity.”
The bill to appoint an independent counsel on BBK was something the National Assembly passed in accordance with Lee’s intentions. When video footage of Lee saying in a guest lecture at Kwangwoon University that he had founded BBK emerged, Lee called a press conference at midnight on December 16 and announced that he “accepts having an independent counsel” because he does not want the petty partisan politics about the issue to continue. If the GNP had not called off its physical blockade of the Assembly floor, it is highly likely the bill would never have passed. President Roh, respecting Lee’s wishes, said he accepted the bill as well. The oath of office says as much, but the most important duty of the president is defending the constitution and adhering to the laws of the land. Lee, too, reemphasized the need to strengthen the rule of law when he spoke at the same press conference. It was the GNP that impeached Roh in 2004, saying he had violated the law requiring civil servants to maintain neutrality in elections.
The independent counsel’s investigation will, in fact, be a necessary threshold for Lee to get past as far as being able to carry out his duties as president smoothly. He won with an overwhelming margin, but he was not supported by an overwhelming majority of the people. Voter turnout was the lowest it has ever been for a presidential election, and while there was a massive field of candidates, the number of votes he received was less than Roh received in the last election. That was probably because of questions about Lee’s ethics. However special the abilities a leaders has may be, if people are distrustful of his ethics, it becomes hard for him to exercise leadership. The independent counsel’s inquiry provides an opportunity to get rid of the ethical questions. Even when Lee issued this latest comment, he was again confident of his innocence. That being the case, he has no reason to avoid the inquiry. The GNP, for its part, must not behave as if Lee wants to evade the investigation.
특검 발언은 실망스럽다
이명박 대통령 당선자는 어제 “(비비케이) 특검에서 무혐의로 다시 나타나면, 이 문제를 제기한 사람은 책임져야 한다”고 말했다. 대통령 당선자가 당선 후 첫날 한 발언이라고는 믿기지 않을 정도로 서슬이 퍼렇다. 오죽 시달렸으면 그랬을까마는, 대통령 당선자가 맨 먼저 자신의 신상 문제를 놓고 으름장을 놓는 모습은 아무래도 볼썽사납다.
굳이 본인이 하지 않아도 될 말이었다. 강재섭 한나라당 대표는 이미 한 라디오 방송사 인터뷰에서 “노무현 대통령이 국민통합을 위해 이런 법안에 대해 거부권을 행사해줬으면 좋겠다”고 말했다. 그 정도면 한나라당과 당선자의 의중은 충분히 전달됐을 터이다. 그래 놓고 당선자가 직접 보복을 연상시키는 발언을 했으니, 앞으로 진행될 정권 인수인계나 4월 총선까지 일정이 걱정스럽다. 첫 기자회견에서 그는 ‘화합과 통합’을 강조했다.
비비케이 특검법은, 애초 이 당선자의 의지에 따라 국회를 통과했다. 스스로 ‘(비비케이를) 설립했다’고 자랑한 광운대 특강을 녹화한 동영상이 유포되자 16일 자정께 긴급 기자회견을 통해 “여의도식 정치풍토를 방치해선 안 된다고 생각해 특검 수용하겠다”고 밝혔다. 한나라당이 원천봉쇄를 풀지 않았다면, 특검법안은 지금도 처리되지 못했을 가능성이 많다. 대통령도 그의 의사를 존중해 특검을 수용하겠다고 밝혔다. 취임선서에도 나와 있지만, 대통령의 가장 중요한 책무는 헌법 수호와 법 준수다. 이 당선자 역시 이날 회견에서 법질서 확립을 거듭 강조했다. 2004년 공무원의 선거중립 의무를 위반했다 하여 노 대통령을 탄핵한 건 한나라당이었다.
사실 비비케이 특검은 이 당선자가 대통령직을 원할하게 수행하기 위해서도 필요한 관문이다. 그는 압도적 표차로 당선됐지만, 압도적 다수가 그를 지지한 건 아니었다. 투표율은 역대 대선 가운데 가장 낮았고, 후보가 난립됐다고는 하나 그의 득표는 지난번 노무현 대통령의 득표보다 적었다. 그것은 아마도 그의 도덕성 논란과 관련 있을 것이다. 아무리 특별한 능력을 가진 지도자라도, 도덕적으로 불신을 받는다면 지도력을 발휘하기 어렵다. 특검은 이런 도덕적 논란을 해소하는 기회다. 그는 이날도 무혐의를 거듭 자신했다. 그렇다면 더더욱 피할 이유가 없다. 한나라당은 이 당선자가 마치 특검을 회피하고 싶어하는 것처럼 보이는 처신을 해서는 안 된다.
[한겨레 사설 12.20]
