Courtroom Ideology Battle Spills Into Streets
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
An ideological battle between judges and prosecutors is moving to the streets, pitting conservative organizations against progressive forces in a full-fledged war that is threatening to engulf the nation.
It is hard to deny that this may seriously affect the fate of the Lee Myung-bak administration, the first conservative government after 10 years of liberal rule.
Progressive groups took to the streets Wednesday, hailing a series of rulings in favor of those accused of standing against the conservative President Lee Myung-bak administration.
Conservative groups Thursday lashed out at the latest verdicts, describing them as a "shameful" legacy of judges with an ideological bias.
The governing Grand National Party vowed to amend a related law to eliminate a stronghold of "leftist" judges.
Right-wing activists staged rallies, calling for the resignation of the judges involved in the controversial cases. Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu exhibited a show of rare, yet obvious, displeasure over the court's decisions.
Chung Wa Dae remained silent over the issue, but signs were detected it, too, was upset with the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Lee Young-hoon recently broke his low-key position to actively shield the court from external attacks. The highest court has refrained from refuting reports, raising suspicions over the rulings.
"The judiciary will firmly keep our independence," the Chief Justice said Wednesday after the Seoul Central District Court exonerated five staff members of MBC TV's investigative journal, who were indicted on charges of defaming two state negotiators by exaggerating the risks of mad cow disease in U.S. beef imports.
The ideological clash was touched off last week by a controversial ruling that acquitted a progressive legislator on charges of violent behavior at the National Assembly, and the feud deepened after another court found a group of progressive teachers not guilty of participating in an anti-government rally, which is illegal under current laws.
Prosecutor General Kim urged hundreds of his deputies to be firmly united and fulfill their duty in a video conference at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul, Thursday. Nearly 1,700 junior and senior prosecutors around the country attended the monthly meeting, Supreme Prosecutors' Office spokesman Cho Eun-seok said.
"I want all prosecutors across the country to be firmly united and act appropriately," Kim emphasized. "The outside is chaotic. But we must not be swayed by it and should fulfill our duties."
The top prosecutor did not express his displeasure over the controversial rulings during the meeting, the spokesman said, and the remarks were widely interpreted as a call for prosecutors to close ranks in their fight against the judiciary.
Conservative activists staged rallies in front of the Seoul court that cleared the MBC staff members. Some activists threw eggs at a car carrying Chief Justice Lee, shouting, "You are to blame for the leftist judiciary." Lee was appointed by liberal President Roh Moo-hyun in 2005.
A group of liberal activists also staged rallies near the court, touting the Wednesday ruling as an example showing that justice is alive and well.