The politicians are talking nonsense about investigating what is on the "X File," which is key to the prosecution's inquiry into the former Agency for National Security Planning's (ANSP) illegal eavesdropping. In August the ruling party proposed a bill which called for the prosecution to do the investigation and then have a third, non-governmental body decide whether the results should be released to the public. At that time the three opposition parties submitted a bill calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the case.
Then on Monday, at a subcommittee of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the ruling Uri Party submitted a compromise bill that essentially adopts the opposition parties' bill calling for a special prosecutor. But then the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) opposed it and the subcommittee was unable to decide anything. Now the GNP says the contents of the "X File" must not be disclosed and the initial opposition bill should be reconsidered from point one. That is some major backpedaling from its position just three months ago, when it said there needed to be a special prosecutor as soon as possible since the case is one that involves the ANSP, the prosecution, and members of the National Assembly. But now that former directors of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) during the government of Kim Dae Jung have been arrested and the situation is starting to turn in the GNP's favor, it does not even feel like it has to hide the fact it no longer needs to stop the regular prosecution from continuing its current investigation. It is a far cry from a responsible opposition party to have a change of attitude according to whether the situation is advantageous or not. Uri, for its part, will find it hard to deal with criticism for having suddenly changed course and accepted the idea of a special prosecutor in order to turn the political mood around now that the investigation hurts its interests.
The investigation into the contents of the eavesdropping tapes are not something for the ruling and opposition camps to determine according to partisan strategies and what is to be gained or lost. That investigation comes in response to the people's demand that there be judgment issued on the chain of corruption that links politics, business, and the media, for example in the case of Samsung's illegal presidential campaign donations. As expected, however, key suspects like Hong Seok Hyun are holding out and not cooperating, so it is becoming ever more likely the investigation will end having let them off the hook.
Prosecutors themselves are suspected of taking bribes in this case the prosecution is investigating, so there inevitably has to be some sort of alternatives put forth by the National Assembly. One hopes to see the ruling and opposition camps resolve the issue as soon as possible with an open-minded attitude.
The Hankyoreh, 23 November 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Deciding How to Investigate ‘X File’ |
