Prosecutors in possession of 2007 inter-Korean summit transcripts

State prosecutors said Monday that they have received classified documents related to the 2007 inter-Korean summit meeting that can help sort out the ongoing legal battle over allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun disavowed the de facto sea border between South and North Korea.

The Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office confirmed it received transcripts of the summit meeting held in Pyongyang from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as part of its ongoing investigation into claims and counter claims raised by political parties.

It, however, made clear that it could not provide details or confirm if allegations raised by several ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers were based on facts or were unsubstantiated remarks.

The conservative party has been claiming for the past few months that Roh effectively took the North Korean side on the Northern Limit Line (NLL) issue, and argued that such a statement is tantamount to surrendering national sovereignty.

The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) said no such remarks were made. They also argued that all documents related to the summit were sealed as classified and could only be checked if two-thirds of parliament agreed on the screening and a high court judge ordered them to be examined as part of trial proceedings.

The liberal party then lodged accusations against Reps. Chung Moon-hun and Lee Cheol-woo as well as Saenuri spokesman Park Sun-kyoo for spreading lies with the aim of trying to affect this year's presidential election.

South Koreans go to the polls on Wednesday to pick the country's next chief executive.

The DUP also reported presidential security secretary Chun Yung-woo, who said in late October that he too saw the transcript because his duties called for him to check past records.

Without going into details, prosecutors said they summoned Chung and a DUP official early this month and held talks with Chun.

Investigators said they will determine if legal charges will be filed based on testimonies given as well as the contents of the transcripts.

Besides legal actions taken by the opposition party, Rep. Suh Sang-kee, who chairs the parliament's intelligence committee, sued NIS director Won Sei-hoon for violating laws governing testimonies and authenticating questions raised by lawmakers.

The Saenuri lawmaker, moreover, reported DUP presidential candidate Moon Jae-in for spreading lies about this matter.

The NLL issue had been one of the main points of contention early in the presidential race, but because the records are sealed and cannot be checked by anyone, the controversy has been put on the back burner, with the results of the latest investigation to be announced after the election. (Yonhap News)