By Kim Jong-chan
Political Editor
The National Assembly has failed to take steps to appoint an independent counsel to investigate serious corruption allegations against a group of 50 former and incumbent prosecutors during the last parliamentary session.
The move came a day before an international group of investigators said a South Korean Navy ship sank after being attacked by a North Korean submarine near the inter-Korean sea border in March. The findings have distracted attention from the corruption scandal. The media gave priority coverage to the incident which claimed 46 lives.
Moreover, political parties have been bent on soliciting voter support since the 13-day official campaigning for the June 2 local elections began last Thursday.
Calls for independent counsel came after Park Gi-joon, a senior prosecutor at the Busan Prosecutors' Office, offered to resign over allegations that he had received bribes and sexual entertainment, paid for by a businessman, for years.
The scandal broke out after a television network reported that the businessman, identified only by his family name Chung, had maintained collusive links with Park and some 50 other "sponsored" prosecutors for more than 20 years.
Public criticism against those prosecutors has mounted. President Lee Myung-bak was no exception. Lee called for an overhaul of law-enforcement authorities, describing the change as a big task facing the nation.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) as well as the governing Grand National Party (GNP) responded positively. They agreed to submit to the legislature a bill on independent counsel, but failed to narrow differences over details.
As to the scope of the investigation, the GNP insisted that the probe be limited to matters based on possible indictments, while the DP argued that all things which come to light during the investigation should be dealt with. Regarding who will have the right to appoint the counsel, the GNP favored the Korean Bar Association, while the DP chose the Chief Justice.
If the two parties had sought a give-and-take deal, they could have compromised, thus paving the way for an independent counsel to launch a probe into the scandal at an early date. Neither side said when they wanted to resume talks. It is doubtful that the National Assemblymen really have the determination to take due measures to investigate the scandal thoroughly.
As soon as the local elections, which are regarded as an interim evaluation of President Lee's first two years in office end, the loser will face an internal feud over who should be held responsible for the defeat that will lead to a reshuffle of party leaders.
In addition, top agenda items of a parliamentary session, if convened in June, will include picking new National Assembly leaders, including the speaker and committee chairmen. Tedious inter-party negotiations are expected over sharing those key parliamentary posts for a two-year term.
In this situation, chances of the bill on independent counsel passing the legislature at an early date look slim.
The drive to overhaul the prosecution already failed during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration due to collective resistance from politicians as well as prosecutors. The liberal Roh's plan might have been premature to go the way he wished.
What is noteworthy is that the then main opposition, GNP opposed the initiative, while the then ruling DP was also lukewarm in pushing for a reform of the prosecution.
This time, growing criticism against the sponsored prosecutors has reignited the call for the establishment of an independent agency which is empowered to investigate irregularities involving senior government officials, including those involved in law-enforcement. The prosecution has remained opposed to the demand for the past years.
Integrity in officialdom should not remain as merely a slogan.