The prosecution is already upset as it is with the resignation of Supreme Public Prosecutor General Kim Jong Bin, so it is very regrettable that members of the National Assembly are rolling up their sleeves and working on furthering the conflict. It's especially mystifying how the Grand National Party (GNP) is talking about "defending the liberal democratic system of government" and declaring it is going to go on a "save-the-nation struggle against the ruling camp."
The right order of things would be for the GNP to explain how Justice Minister Chun Jung bae's decision to invoke his right to issue an order in a prosecution investigation violates the constitution and the law. If it opposes being faithful to the country's criminal law and doing all that can be done to guarantee the civil rights of the people, then you wonder what kind of "liberal democratic system of government" the GNP has so much respect for. Today the GNP has among its membership some of the very same men who during the authoritarian regimes saw to it that the prosecution was made to be like a lady in waiting of authoritarian power. It's an extraordinary joke to have people like Kim Ki Choon and Chung Hyung Keun calling for the prosecution to have independent investigative authority when it was they who, back when they were prosecutors, led the way in hurting the prosecution's neutrality and created a big burden for the prosecution as an organization.
The Uri Party, for its part, should rid itself of any ideas about using the situation as a card to play in turning around its situation. It looks like in the wake of what has happened a consensus has formed regarding the need for reform at the prosecution or the need for reform of exclusivist organizational culture. However, that should happen through introspection and reflection on the part of the prosecution itself and through improvements via official channels. Approaching the situation emotionally, as if the "teach the prosecution a lesson," will only make things worse. The matter can be left to the Judicial Reform Commission, which is calmly considering changes in criminal law, adjusting the balance between the jurisdiction of the prosecution and the police, a wider range of applications for arbitration, and other legal reforms. Uri must be particularly careful of its discussion of "democratic controls on prosecutorial authority." A prosecution without controls is a problem, but it must not be forgotten that the difference between democratic controls and "outside political pressure" can easily be the difference between a single sheet of paper.
The Hankyoreh, 18 October 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Politicians Shouldn't Incite Discord |
