permitted time period. Also, such statements did not constitute a violation for any other statutes. However, such an one-sided act of the President toward a specific citizen organization might well cause a division between the groups of citizens supporting the President and the groups of citizens not supporting the President and, thereby, does not conform to the obligation of the President to unify the national community as the President of the entire public, which might lead to the public's distrust against the administration as a whole. (2) Remark at the luncheon with former presidential aides on December 24, 2003 at Cheong Wa Dae Pursuant to the acknowledged facts, the President on December 24, 2003, at a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae with nine others including his former presidential aides who had resigned in order to run for the general election, stated that "the next year's general election will have a polarized structure between the Grand National Party and the President with the Uri Party on the other side," and that "a vote for the New Millennium Democratic Party at next year's election will be conceived as support for the Grand National Party." In this case of a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae hosted by the President and the first lady for the former Cheong Wa Dae aides and the administrative officers, the nature of the meeting was private rather than one hosted by the President in his official status as the President. The content of the statements can hardly be deemed as statements intended by the President to unduly influence the election by taking advantage of the political influence of his official status. The above statements of the President, considering altogether the other party of the speech, the context thereof and the motive therefor, were acts justified by the freedom of expression under the Constitution as an exercise of the freedom to express opinion towards politics, and did not exceed the limits on the political activities permitted for public officials of political offices. (3) Remark at the beginning-of-the-year press conference on January 14, 2004 Pursuant to the acknowledged facts, the President at the beginningof-the-year press conference on January 14, 2004, stated that "there was a split because there were those who supported reform and those who did not support reform fearing it, and I would like to go together with the Uri Party as those who supported me at the presidential election are running the Uri Party." - 181 -