Political confrontation is escalating over the missing minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit as the ruling party is set to take legal action against those responsible should the transcript not be found by the deadline of Monday.

The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continued to search for the documents at the National Archives for a third day on Sunday.

The committee set up to view and analyze related records is to conclude whether or not the transcript exists, and report its verdict to the House Steering Committee on Monday.

Concerns are rising that a failure will lead to yet more discord between the two parties.

The transcript of the summit became a hot political issue following claims that late President Roh Moo-hyun had denied the legitimacy of the Northern Limit Line ― the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas ― to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

After the National Intelligence Service disclosed its records of the summit to lawmakers, the two main parties agreed to view those kept by the National Archives in an effort to put the issue to rest.

On July 15, the two parties began analyzing the National Archives’ records concerning the issue. On Thursday, however, it was revealed that records did not include the transcript, prompting the Saenuri Party and the DP to engage in a speculative blame-game, each accusing the other of being involved in the apparent loss of the records.

The ruling party appears ready to bring in the prosecutors’ office to clarify the situation.

“The cause and responsibility (for the absence of the records) will be clarified, and those concerned will be made to take responsibility,” Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan said on Friday. He also said that the National Archives confirmed that data transferred to its system could not be deleted, implying that any gaps in the data were caused by omissions in the transfer stage.

While Choi did not elaborate on the means to clarify the situation, the comment has been widely interpreted to mean an investigation by the public prosecutors.

The DP and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s aides have argued that all related information was handed over to the government, with some suggesting that the Lee Myung-bak administration is behind the disappearance.

Roh administration officials, including Lim Sang-Kyung who served as the first chief of the Presidential Archives, who were involved in the transfer have reiterated that all related records were handed over. According to the DP, a public prosecutors’ investigation in 2008 found no evidence of any data being omitted in the transfer.

Rep. Shin Kyung-min pointed the finger of blame at former President Lee Myung-bak, citing an interview with the local media in which Lee said that he had seen the transcript.

Shin went on to say that such developments indicated that the current situation was “not a coincidence but an inevitability in which even Lee is involved.”

Rep. Jung Cheong-rae has raised the possibility of the NIS having known about the absence of the transcript.

“NIS chief Nam Jae-joon recently reported to the parliamentary Intelligence Committee that the NIS’ transcript is the original, and that he did not know whether records existed at the National Archives,” Jung said on Sunday.

“Thinking about it now, (Nam’s comments) cannot but raise suspicion that the NIS knew that the National Archives does not have the transcript.”

The DP has also raised questions about the operation of the Presidential Archives.

“When Roh Moo-hyun foundation officials visited the Presidential Archives to obtain his personal records on March 26, the seal on the Bongha e-Jiwon system had been removed,” DP’s Rep. Hong Young-pyo said Sunday. He added that the officials found two login records.

“The Presidential Archives must explain why the seal was broken and the e-Jiwon system was accessed.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)