(2nd LD) Moon's campaign sues former foreign minister over memoir controversy

(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 10-15)

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- Liberal presidential nominee Moon Jae-in's campaign on Monday filed a complaint with the prosecution against a former foreign minister for defamation, as his claim about Seoul's 2007 policy decision on Pyongyang has posed a setback to the front-runner.

Last week, Song Min-soon, South Korea's top diplomat from 2006-2008, reiterated that Seoul decided to abstain from voting on a U.N. resolution against Pyongyang's human rights abuses after consulting the communist regime. Moon then served as a chief of staff to former President Roh Moo-hyun.

Song first made the revelation through his memoir published in October.

The Democratic Party candidate's camp has called his claim untrue and contended that the Roh government had contacted the North to "notify" it of its decision to abstain, not to ask for its opinion on the key foreign policy issue.

The campaign also accused Song of violating laws on the public official election and the management of presidential records and leaking official secrets.

"Ahead of the upcoming election, it is politically, morally inappropriate (for Song) to make such a claim that is not based on facts," Yoo Eun-hae, a spokeswoman of Moon's campaign, told reporters.

The Institute of Fair Opportunity, a local civic group, also filed a similar complaint against Song, questioning the intention behind his claim.

"We doubt his intention as he raised that issue at a delicate time when security concerns have been heightened (due to a provocative Pyongyang) and just some two weeks left till the election," it said in a press release.

After Song reiterated his claim, conservative rivals ratcheted up their offensive against Moon. They criticized him for kowtowing to the North and called into question his credentials as a potential commander-in-chief at a time the provocative state is escalating its military threats.

The Liberty Korea Party, in particular, called Moon a "liar," accusing the Roh government of having "been in league" with the reclusive state.

Song tendered his resignation as president of the University of North Korea Studies on Monday amid the controversy. Song took office as the school president in March 2015.

"I am now at the center of a political polemic ... This is not what I wanted," Song told reporters as he stepped out of his office in Seoul for lunch.

"If I hold this school post, the school may end up taking on some political overtones. That is not good for the school and myself ... So, I have decided to quit," he added.

Earlier in the day, Song revealed a letter, which he wrote to Roh to persuade him into voting for the U.N. resolution. But he refused to unveil additional evidence to corroborate his claim, saying that Moon's side would rebuff whatever he says in the thick of its campaign.

Asked about his future course of action, Song said he would strive to spread the "lessons" he learned from history "as I wrote in my book."

sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)