[Editorial] Hong Seok Hyun Must Face His Karma

Former JoongAng Ilbo president Hong Seok Hyun holds the keys to solving the so-called "X File" case, and yet he continues to resist prosecution calls for him to return to Korea. He had reserved a plane ticket to Incheon Airport for November 10 but has since canceled, the second time he has done so. What he is doing is making it look like he is about to return, when in fact he is extending his time on the run outside the country. No progress is being made on the investigation into "illegal lobbying" by Samsung and bribes for prosecutors as a result of Hong's refusal to return.

The prosecution looks like it is fine with the situation. It keeps repeating that it "has a time frame in mind." One high-level prosecution official even says that his people have talked to Hong's people, and that they have an understanding. You wonder what in the world each side could have talked about and what the prosecution is being understanding about. It is enough to make you start assuming that they have some sort of deal. All the more so because Hong attempted to work out a secret deal with prosecutors back 1999, when he was implicated in the Bogwang group tax evasion case.

When he stepped down from his position as ambassador to the United States on September 23, Hong said he wouldn't "avoid any remaining karma" he might have to deal with. More than a month and a half later he is still holding out, so you doubt whether he meant what he said. He needs to stop with the lame behavior and immediately return to Seoul and submit to the prosecution's investigation. That is what would be right for someone who was the head of a massive newspaper company and even Korea's ambassador to Washington. The prosecution, for its part, should stop neglecting Hong's prolonged evasion of the law and study more proactive measures to get him back, including a formal demand that he be extradited.

The Hankyoreh, 9 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection