The Incheon District Prosecutor's Office has been suspected of looking the other way for Daesang chairman Im Chang Uk back in 2002, for indicting his aides on embezzlement related charges while classifying Im only as a witness and eventually excusing him even of that obligation. The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday that it has decided against an inquiry into the Incheon prosecution. The official reason is that there is no documentation about pressure on prosecutors in Incheon and so Incheon cannot be investigated, but that is not convincing. Nothing about the questions that have been asked have been resolved.
The initial inquiry by the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office inspection team gives you the strong impression that is just went through the motions. It says it examined the records of the investigation for a week and asked questions of the Incheon investigators, but only two Incheon investigators were questioned. The questioning consisted of nothing more than confirming the facts by telephone. The inspection team says it "did not question higher-ups in Incheon because the Incheon investigators said they were not pressured by higher-ups." Given the particular structure of the prosecution as an organization, you wonder were you would ever find a lower-level prosecution official who would actually come out and say he was wrongfully pressured?
The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office says the prosecutor responsible had been of the view that Im should be arrested. But he also said he did not know whether that view had been reported up to the highest channels. The question of how far that got reported and who decided what would happen is a very important one. It makes you wonder if the initial inquiry was thorough enough.
It is human nature to want to protect your own. The prosecution does not have the luxury of doing that right now, however. There has been no small amount of criticism that the prosecution has wavered in the face of jaebeol pressure. That being the case this is something that should be cleared up also for the sake of the prosecution as an organization. The issue will not go away by not looking into what happened. The justice minister has said on many occasions there has to be thorough inquiry into investigations which the people have suspicions about. It is now time for the Justice Ministry to get involved.
The Hankyoreh, 27 July 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Justice Ministry Should Look at Daesang Case |
