Civic Group Sues Sponsored Prosecutors

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff Reporter

A civic group here filed a suit against 57 former and incumbent prosecutors accused of having received money and sexual entertainment as bribes from a businessman.

The People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) said Thursday that it has reported the so-called ``sponsored’’ prosecutors to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office for criminal proceedings, accusing them of taking bribes in exchange for providing business favors to the jailed head of a construction firm in Busan, the nation’s largest port city.

On Tuesday, MBC TV’s investigative program “PD Notebook” made public the names and photos of two incumbent senior prosecutors ― Park Gi-joon at the Busan Prosecutors’ Office and Han Seung-chul at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office ― who were on the list.

The one-hour episode of the weekly TV program called the testimony and documents from a 52-year-old man, identified only by his surname Chung, ``highly credible.’’

``Chung’s documents prove that many prosecutors have received money and entertainment services from him for many years. Given the huge amounts of money Chung spent to entertain law enforcement officials, they should be indicted for receiving bribes,’’ the civic group said in a statement.

It then urged investigators to get to the bottom of the growing bribery scandal, stressing if sponsored prosecutors go unpunished like in the past, it will tarnish the prosecution’s reputation and turn the case into a full-blown catastrophe.

Additionally, the Democratic Party (DP) and other opposition parties said Thursday that a special prosecutor should be appointed to look into the allegations, insisting the investigators themselves are unable and unwilling to fully resolve the scandal.

``The case will fade away from public awareness as time goes by unless the whole truth is faithfully revealed. We think a special prosecutor should be brought in to investigate the incident thoroughly, leaving no doubt,’’ DP floor leader Lee Kang-rae said.

Lee then said the opposition party does not have faith in an envisioned special investigation unit to be set up by the prosecution. ``There were many similar scandals in the past but those who were involved went unpunished because prosecutors were unable to clean up their own mess.’’

To head off the rapidly growing public criticism, Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu said Wednesday that Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will launch a special investigation into the allegations. ``If the report turns out to be true, it’s a disgrace to the prosecution as a whole. We will uncover the truth first and then take appropriate measures,’’ Kim said.

Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam also pledged to leave no stone unturned. The latest ``sponsorship’’ scandal involving prosecutors and a businessmen have brought the decades-old dubious practice to public attention once again.

In Korea, history has shown that it is all about who knows who in politics and businesses. It is important for businessmen to build close relationships with those in power, including lawmakers, judges and prosecutors, in order to get things done.

In the same way, people in power, who are mostly employed in the public sector with a small salary, need to know wealthy people who are willing to pay their expenses.

Businessmen provide not only cash, but also lavish entertainment. In return, those who spend billions of won to treat people in power receive business favors.

Experts say the prosecutions’ wielding of ``absolute’’ power is a cause of the repeated bribery scandals. Under the law, a prosecutor has the exclusive right to decide whether to send a case to court. They also exercise huge influence in criminal investigations, with virtually no institution performing checks-and-balances.

For many years, civic activities have said in order to prevent such scandals, the current prosecution system should be overhauled, bringing more outsiders into the ranks of prosecutors and strengthening the organizational transparency. But little progress has been made.

``The best way to prevent such a scandal is to thoroughly investigate the allegations and bring those involved to justice, sending a warning to both prosecutors and businessmen. After filing a complaint with the prosecution, we will wait and see how it handles the matter. If the investigation is short of our expectations, we will take all possible measures,’’ Lee Jing-young, a PSPD coordinator, said.