[Editorial] Disclose Content of Tapes if No Legal Problem

The prosecution, having looked far and wide in its effort to consult Korean and international theories and precedents as it decides what to do about the 274 illegal eavesdropping tapes from the National Security Planning Agency, has tentatively decided that there would be no legal problem with commencing on an investigation based on their contents. That is a very reasonable and fortunate conclusion. The legal community has been in a state of debate, with those opposed to an investigation invoking the legal principle that evidence collected illegally cannot be used as evidence in court and the "communications privacy law." The prosecution's internal report on its study of legal theory and precedents is very significant in that it clears up the confusion on the legal interpretations.

Clarifying the truth regarding what is on the tapes is just as important as uncovering the whole story behind the illegal eavesdropping activity. Those are two entirely different issues, and neither is such that only one among them has to be chosen to be investigated. If the contents of the one tape that has been made public is any indication, it is highly likely that the rest of the 274 tapes are recordings of ugly secret deals between high-ranking members of previous governments, bureaucrats, businessmen, and members of the media. If that is the case the whole affair needs to be used as a chance to uproot the structural corruption that exists in our society by digging deep into what happened. It would also be imbalanced to investigate suspicions of illegal "lobbying" by Samsung while ignoring other criminal allegations.

The question of whether it would be right to have the prosecution be the entity behind the investigation or not does indeed remain to be answered. It might be hard for the prosecution to just get down to business when the politicians are fighting over whether to pass a "special law" or appoint a "special prosecutor" over the matter. But the prosecution does have its traditional duties. It is a negligence of duty to not investigate when clear and serious criminal allegations have surfaced. The regular prosecution can get started and then hand over its findings to a special prosecutor if one gets appointed by the National Assembly. Its leadership needs to stop hesitating and decide now to start an investigation.

The Hankyoreh, 11 August 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]