The apparent absence of an inter-Korean summit transcript from South Korea's presidential archives is expected to spark an intense blame game between the rival parties as the mystery is sure to deal a serious blow to whichever side is found to be at fault.
The transcript of the 2007 summit dialogue between then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is key to efforts to determine whether Roh made remarks to the effect of offering to nullify the Yellow Sea border with the North.
Ten lawmakers were selected from ruling and opposition parties to take a joint look at related presidential records kept at the National Archives of Korea, including the transcript. The lawmakers visited the archives twice this week but failed to locate the transcript.
The failure came as a stunning surprise as no one had doubted the transcript's existence at the archives. Officials of the Roh administration have said that they made two transcripts of what was discussed during the summit, and kept one of them at the archives and the other at the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
When the spy agency made public the transcript it has been keeping, Rep. Moon Jae-in, former chief of staff to Roh, insisted on looking at the version kept at the presidential archives, claiming that the NIS version is misleading and the original version is the one at the archives.
It was unclear what happened to the file, including whether it had even been transferred to the archives from the beginning, though some say it is still possible to locate the file because it could have been kept under a title unrelated to the summit to strengthen its confidentiality.
Later Thursday, the parliamentary steering committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the issue.
"Though we have to keep trying to find it, chances appear to be very low of finding it," a ruling camp official said.
Earlier Thursday, Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan, the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, declined to comment on the issue, only saying that he should first receive a briefing from the 10 lawmakers handling the issue about what happened in their efforts to find the file.
Both sides started blaming each other.
"If it turns out the transcript doesn't exist, all the Roh loyalists should be subject to the verdict of history for distorting history and destroying of the file," another ruling camp official said, raising speculation that those close to Roh could have destroyed the file.
But the main opposition Democratic Party raised suspicions that the administration of the previous President Lee Myung-bak could have been behind the disappearance.
"There is no possibility of the Roh Moo-hyun administration destroying the presidential record," said Rep. Jun Byung-hun, the floor leader of the opposition Democratic Party. "Should it be confirmed that the presidential record (the transcript) does not exist, we cannot help but suspect the previous administration of Lee Myung-bak."
The office of President Park Geun-hye expressed disbelief.
"Frankly speaking, we are also puzzled and perplexed," a senior official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "As it is difficult to believe it, we better wait and see what the National Assembly says about it." (Yonhap News)
