[Editorial] Prosecution, courts forgetting their mission

The prosecution is angry over a court’s rejection of its application for arrest warrants in the Korea Exchange Bank credit card stock manipulation case against Lone Star executives. In an unusual move, the nation's top prosecutor called a meeting with the prosecution office responsible for the investigation, after which openly expressing his disagreement with the court's decision. He said the prosecution is going to apply for the same set of warrants all over again, but - in a historical first - do so without submitting additional evidence.

It is unfortunate to have the courts and the prosecution in endless conflict with one another. They have repeatedly been at odds, and over a number of cases, such as the investigation into corruption in the judicial system, the Supreme Court chief justice's insulting comments towards the prosecution, and the issue of placing more emphasis on the trial process than conclusions reached by the prosecution outside of court. All of the parties involved give their reasons, but ultimately it is a fight over who has more say in the country's judicial process. The way they fight over everything is unsightly because their attitude shows that they do not care in the least how it all looks to the rest of the country.

When it comes to this particular case, the prosecution's argument is not without merit. The accused are completely denying the allegations and setting conditions so that they may be able to leave the country before a verdict. Also, there is simply no precedent for not issuing arrest warrants in a case involving a serious amount of cash allegedly coming from stock manipulation. The court's stated reason for denying the warrants is the confidence of the international community in the innocence of the accused. That hardly seems like a good reason.

With the authority of the courts increasing with the adoption of a process that places more emphasis on the actual trial, the prosecution seems to have decided that it could not just let the trend of more and more warrant rejections continue. Still, it is hard to accept that the nation's chief prosecutor is getting involved, and organizing his people against a single, specific case. There are going to be criminal cases in which prosecutors seek warrants that are unreasonable, and, conversely, there are going to be cases when the courts make decisions that are too generous.

In either situation, the way to deal with the problem is to submit more evidence and apply all over again, or for prosecutors to follow the established legal procedures for non-compliance. It appears like a purely emotional reaction to call a court decision a "comedy" or apply for the same warrants without furnishing judges with additional evidence. If procedures for issuing warrants are inadequate, the way to deal with the situation would be to find reasonable solutions through official discussion and public dialogue. People in the legal system cannot forever go on public relations offensives and wrestle with each other, as if to ask the people to judge who is right.

The courts and the prosecution are the main pillars of the criminal justice system. Both are one in the same in their mission of punishing crime and protecting the country. What the country wants to know is the truth about the sale of Korea Exchange Bank, not the details of the investigation, down to whether the accused are kept in custody while the case moves forward. This selfish fight over organizational interests ignores the missions of both sides and leads to public distrust of the system as a whole.