The prosecution is an organ of the state that is supposed to implement social justice and defend the peoples' rights through strict enforcement of the law as a representative of the public interest. Therefore when a public prosecutor does not do his job of investigating crime in the way that he should it is only natural that he be made to pay a price. That is a matter of common sense, and yet it is not being followed when it comes to promoting chief prosecutors. It is preposterous that there even have to be rumors about how someone with responsibility to bear for a botched investigation was given a special appointment.
The personnel shuffle announced Wednesday is consistent with that common sense, and that is most fortunate. The chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central Public Prosecutor's Office, Lee Jong Baek, who has long been suspected of overlooking wrongdoing in the slush fund case involving honorary Daesang Group chairman Im Chang Uk, has been sent to work in Busan. Hwang Gyo An, second in command at Seoul Central prosecution and the man who decided against making indictments in the 2002 National Intelligence Service (NIS) eavesdropping investigation, and he was excluded from this year's series of promotions. The right thing was done in both cases. The Justice Ministry's inspection service had stated that those who are responsible for botched investigations need to be penalized in assessment for promotion. If those responsible at the top are being allowed to go scot-free or are even given extra points at promotion time, what will prosecutors learn from that and what will become of the prosecution's honor? It is at times like these when the expression sin sang pil beol ("never fail to give reward for merit and punish for faults") is appropriate.
Aside from the actual results of the personnel shuffle, the process through which the promotions were made had flaws and that is something that needs to be looked at. The established view about why the announcement came so late is that there was discord between justice minister Chun Jung Bae and Cheong Wa Dae over what to do with Lee Jong Baek. Chun is said to have wanted to censure him, while president Roh Moo Hyun reportedly wanted to keep him where he is, and it just so happens that Roh and Lee passed the bar examination together. Cheong Wa Dae makes the final decisions, but it was wrong for it to have been protecting someone so problematic. One hopes this latest personnel shuffle will lead to a change in the way the government makes personnel management choices that are more transparent and consistent with its principles.
The Hankyoreh, 2 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Prosecution Personnel Shuffle Takes Right Direction |
