The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) has claimed ownership of a slush fund of NT$240 million (US$7.65 million) two days after the frozen money was collected from the court by James Soong, chairman of the now-marginalized People First Party. KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin told a news conference Thursday that the KMT decided from Soong's previous public accounts that the funds belong to the KMT and Soong had intended to return the cash to the party. 'James Soong should explain publicly, with evidence, if he now thinks otherwise,' Su said. 'The Kuomintang will deal with the issue carefully and with total transparency to avoid any damage to its image,' Su went on. He said the funds will be donated to public interest projects if they are returned to the KMT. In order to verify the party's claims, Su cited Soong as disputing an order for him to pay tax on the funds at a public rally in Nanao, Yilan County in 2002, on the grounds that the money, accumulated by Soong during his term as KMT secretary-general between 1989 and 1993, belonged to the KMT and that he therefore should not be asked to pay tax on it. The funds came to light in 1999 when Soong fell foul of then-President Lee Teng- hui, who doubled as KMT chairman from 1988 to 2000, over his bid to run for the presidency against Lee's hand-picked KMT candidate, Lien Chan. Soong, who was engaged in a three-way presidential race at the time, told a news conference Dec. 14, 1999 that the funds were entrusted to him by Lee for party use during Soong's term as KMT secretary-general. Soong did not hand over the money to his successor when he left his KMT post to take over as Taiwan provincial governor in 1994. Lee denied that he had any previous knowledge of the funds, much less entrusted it to Soong. In order to show he had no intention of embezzling the money, Soong deposited the funds with the court Jan. 25, 2000, with Lee as the receiver, after Lee rejected Soong's offer to return the money to the KMT. The KMT filed a complaint with the prosecution against Soong on Feb. 16, 2000, accusing him of siphoning off NT$360 million from the party coffers. The prosecutors decided not to indict Soong after finding no evidence to support the KMT's complaint and closed the case Jan. 17, 2005. The case made headlines again Wednesday after an attorney collected the funds from the court on behalf of Soong earlier this month. President Ma Ying-jeou, who also serves as KMT chairman, decided to deal with the issue fairly rather than turning a blind eye to it. One of his close aides said that whoever lays claim to the funds -- Soong or Lee -- should verify his claim with evidence, or the funds should go to the KMT. 'We are compelled to deal with the issue, and must show our hand,' the aide said on condition of anonymity. However, Soong, who was on a private trip to Shanghai, told reporters Friday that the KMT should not be washing its dirty linen in public. His attorney, Huang Shan-shan, who was holding the funds on Soong's behalf, said Thursday in Taipei that she was surprised by the KMT's claim of ownership. Noting that during an investigation into the case the party denied having entrusted any funds to Soong, did not claim ownership and did not try to collect the money over the last decade, Huang questioned how the party could now demand the money. Soong and Lee, who fell out during the 2000 presidential election, reconciled only recently, evidenced by Lee's consent for Soong to collect the funds from the court. 