Han Tests Prosecutors Patience
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The prosecution summoned former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook Sunday for questioning over an allegation that she had received $50,000 in bribes while in office. It set the date for her appearance at the office for Monday, but Han again refused to comply with it.
"Reliable and objective evidence should be provided to call her in. Without these, she will never cooperate with it," said Yang Jung-chul, Han's spokesman. Prosecutors haven't ruled out the possibility of executing her summons by force, but observers say it may not be easy, given that there will probably be an ensuing political backlash.
The prosecution has been investigating the allegation that Han received $50,000 in bribes from former Korea Express President Kwak Young-wook in exchange for arranging his appointment as CEO of a subsidiary of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). A fresh allegation that another influential opposition legislator is also embroiled in the scandal has recently popped up in political circles.
One of the suspects is now a key member of the opposition Democratic Party, raising speculation that the ongoing investigation could be extended to other former and incumbent politicians. Any concrete evidence backing the allegation or media reports based on reliable sources has yet to be found.
The probe targeting the opposition leader is drawing condemnation from progressive and anti-government activists, who describes it as a typical ploy by those in power aimed at dealing a blow to opposition politicians, as shown in the probe into former President Roh Moo-hyun.
Embroiled in a bribery scandal, Roh committed suicide at the height of the investigation in May, highlighting the prosecution's intentional information leakage to pro-government media outlets to corner suspects critical of the Lee Myung-bak administration.
Such investigative practice apparently challenges the Criminal Law that stipulates all suspects should be treated as innocent until a court's decision, critics explain. Following Roh's tragic death, Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu has vowed to kick out all investigation practices that infringe upon suspects' rights, including leakage as information to the media.
In fact, the mushrooming bribery scandal was first made public late last month by the Chosun Ilbo, a mass-circulation conservative daily friendly to President Lee. Following the report, other conservative papers began to churn out reports describing her bribery to be true, based on what they called "reliable" sources within the authorities.
Han's followers condemned the prosecution, arguing involved prosecutors are apparently still sticking to the old legacy, while senior prosecutor Kim Joo-hyun, who leads an investigation unit in charge of the case, refuted their allegation, saying, "No leakage has ever been made."
"Such detailed information about the ongoing investigation can only be leaked by those within the investigation unit," Yang said, raising suspicion of a leak from insiders.