There is growing debate about the eavesdropping tapes found in the home of Gong Un Yeong, who once operated the eavesdropping team "Mirim" at the National Security Planning Agency. The issue at question is whether the contents of the recordings should be disclosed and if so to what degree, and what body should be responsible for investigating any illegalities they may reveal. The controversy is motivated by concern about entrusting everything about them to the prosecution.
A survey commissioned by Hankyroeh and preformed by Research Plus is very telling. 61.1 percent of respondents support disclosure and 85.2 percent think illegal activity should be investigated, so there is no major disagreement on that. About how much of the tapes' contents should be made public, however, are two camps; those who would like to see only parts relating to crimes committed made public and those who would like to see the contents disclosed in full. Of particular note is that 63.5 percent want an investigation other than the regular prosecution to investigate. 41.1 percent of respondents said they would like to see a "new, neutral civilian organization" do the investigating.
As seen in what has already been exposed to the public, the tapes contain evidence of Korean society's chronic collusive and corrupt relationship between politics, business, government, and the news media. Being part of that, the prosecution would not be the right organization for investigating what is on them, since it cannot be completely free from outside influence. Politicians were involved on what is on the tapes, so the investigation should not be left to the National Assembly, either. That being the case there is only one answer available. There needs to be a legal organization similar in character to a truth commission, composed of individuals who are outside the ring of corruption, that examines the contents of the tapes and researches the truth behind what happened and then discloses that to the people. Illegalities discovered would of course be handed over to the prosecution for investigation.
Forming a truth commission would require a determined decision by president Roh Moo Hyun and the willing agreement of each political party. We call on everyone concerned to think seriously about the fact that the future of Korean society and politics will depend heavily on the choices that are made.
The Hankyoreh, 1 August 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] 'Eavesdropping Tapes' Need 'Truth Commission' |
