Supreme Court head’s remarks rile chief prosecutor

Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Yong-hun

Top judge says interrogations should be ’thrown out’ of court

South Korea’s chief prosecutor has expressed dismay over remarks made by Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Yong-hun, calling them inappropriate and disrespectful of the prosecution.

In a visit to courthouses in Daejeon on September 19, Lee asked, "How could closed-door interrogation reports by prosecutors gain an upper hand on testimony given in the open court? If the court [system] takes shape appropriately, these interrogation reports should be thrown out."

In response, Prosecutor General Choung Sang-myoung said in a statement on September 21, "I am disappointed in the chief justice’s remark, because it could be misread as meaning that he does not respect the function and role of the prosecution, which is in charge of human rights and legal matters under constitutional law."

Though the chief prosecutor’s reaction was triggered by Lee’s remarks, the root of his ire involves a recent shift in ideology toward a more fully trial-based system in South Korea. Lee’s remarks brought to the surface an internal power struggle between the prosecution and the top court regarding to what extent prosecutors’ interrogation results would be used as evidence in a court of law. The dispute began in earnest in May 2005, when a presidential committee for judicial reform revised criminal trial law so that a court could choose to reject interrogation reports by prosecutors at the request of the accused. However, the revision invited harsh opposition from prosecutors, prompting the committee to revise the proposal again. The revised proposal requires a court to accept interrogation reports as evidence when the reports are proven to have been acquired using fully legal procedures.

Prosecutor General Choung Sang-myoung

However, prosecutors have suspected the top court of attempting to undermine the capacity of their investigations.

Another factor contributing to the prosecution’s angry reaction to Lee’s remarks is a recent move by the court to more strictly handle the issuance of arrest warrants. The rejection rate of arrest warrants at the Seoul Central District Court has risen from 17.7 percent between January and August this year to 25 percent so far this month. Prosecutors have levied criticism at the court’s rejections of arrest warrants in investigations such as a U.S. fund’s purchase of Korea First Bank at an allegedly discounted price and a recent arcade game gambling scandal.

A senior official at the Supreme Court, who asked not to be named, said, "The chief prosecutor had a sensitive reaction to Lee’s remarks, as [prosecutors] regard the changing court system as having a negative impact on the prosecution’s investigative environment."

Despite the head prosecutor’s criticisms, judicial experts said that moves to emphasize the importance of a trial-oriented legal system and to issue arrest warrants under strict guidelines would most likely gain strength, as there is general societal consensus that prosecutors should change their ‘closed-door’ investigatory procedures and seemingly knee-jerk requests for arrest warrants. A lawyer at a civic organization, who asked to remain anonymous, said, "Though Lee’s remarks were a bit rough around the edges, [the direction of] the large stream won’t change because it is flowing the right way."