S. Korean party wants special investigator

SEOUL, March 31 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's own party Saturday called for an investigation into charges his office was involved in illegal surveillance of critics.

An earlier investigation cleared the president, while seven officials were indicted, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Striking reporters for KBS, the country's public broadcaster, posted an online story Thursday that they had been able to get more than 2,600 reports assembled between 2008 and 2010 by an ethics team that was supposed to monitor public corruption. The report said the ethics team also went after business leaders and journalists who were critical of the Seoul government.

"The case is a criminal act that infringes on human rights and destroys democracy," said Lee sang-il, a spokesman for the ruling Saenuri Party. "Prosecutors' past investigation results fell short of clearing all suspicions surrounding the case, so we demand the launch of a special probe into the case."