Main opposition party leader Rep . Moon Jae - in upped the ante against his rival party Monday , saying he would attend the hearing for an investigation into an overseas resource development project , and demanded former president Lee Myung - bak join him . “ The Saenuri Party insisted that the former president Lee would attend the hearing as long as I joined him . Fair enough . I will attend the hearing , and you should join me , ” said Moon from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy . The ruling party , however , rejected the demand . “ It is nothing but an attempt to play politics , ” said Rep . Kim Mu - sung , leader of the ruling Saenuri Party . “ If the allegation proves to be true , then he ( former president ) should attend the hearing . So far , no allegation has been proven . I can only imagine that they ( opposition party ) don ’ t want to continue the committee anymore , ” said Kim . Moon ’ s remarks come amid a political tug - of - war surrounding the investigation into an overseas resource development project , otherwise known as “ energy diplomacy , ” which has been under fire for causing massive losses and wasting taxpayer ’ s money . Last December , the National Assembly set up a committee to investigate if there were any wrongdoings in the project . The two major parties , however , have been at odds over how to run the committee , particularly regarding a hearing for key players , including former President Lee . The opposition party has constantly demanded the former president should attend the hearing , saying he has been in charge of the project from the beginning . The party has also asked other key aides to Lee to attend . It urged the committee to extend its service beyond the expiration date of April 7 , noting the failure to find anything until now . “ President Lee spearheaded the energy development project . I think he has an obligation to answer the allegations . I urge him to come out and face the truth , ” said Moon . “ I also want to hear the response of chairman Kim , the leader of ruling Saenuri Party , to my request , ” Moon added . As for the extension of the committee ’ s operation date , the ruling party left it open for discussion . “ The party will discuss the matter with the committee ’ s members , ” said Rep . Yoo Seung - min Saenuri Party Floor Leader . The project has been the most talked - about political scandal in Korea . It has cost 31 . 4 trillion won ( $ 28 billion ) in taxpayer ’ s money , according to Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea . By Yeo Jun - suk ( jasonyeo @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 우리 아이 영어 글쓰기 , 어떻게 교육 하 나요 ] 	 더 많 은 기사 보 러 가 기 → [ 코리아 헤럴드 홈페이지 ] [ 트위터 ] [ 페이스북 ] 	 구독 신청 1588 - 0533 	 <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >