Ex-presidential secretary Woo avoids arrest 2nd time

Cheong Wa Dae Civil affairs division criticized for unrestricted power

By Lee Kyung-min

The Seoul Central District Court rejected a request by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for an arrest warrant for former presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo.

Woo is facing charges including abuse of power, dereliction of duty and perjury. The court’s rejection of the warrant is the second such failed attempt following the independentcounsel team’s move in February.

Judge Kwon Soon-ho rejected the request at 12:15 a.m., Wednesday, saying it was debatable whether Woo’s actions constitute criminal acts and therefore the prosecution’s charges have failed to show the need to hold him in custody. Woo does not pose a flight risk and is unlikely to destroy evidence, Kwon added.

While the prosecution claimed that Woo exercised unlimited authority and power beyond what is permissible for the civil affairs secretary, the court dismissed this, saying he was well within his duty as one of the top aides to the former president.

This decision triggered strong criticism given that Woo is implicated in almost all power abuse allegations that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.

Woo, according to the prosecution, attempted to name one of his associates to the culture ministry-led special investigation unit formed to tackle corruption in sports.

He also ordered public officials who failed or showed reluctance to follow presidential orders investigated. Many former and incumbent officials at the culture and foreign affairs ministries, and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) are believed to have been dismissed or demoted in the process.

Woo is suspected of ordering FTC officials to file a complaint with the prosecution to launch an investigation into CJ E&M, which produced liberal media content critical of the Park administration and favorable to former President Roh Moo-hyun.

He also faces alleged dereliction of duty for overlooking or aiding and abetting the alleged criminal activities of Choi Soon-sil, the arrested confidant of former President Park. Other allegations against him include that he engaged in perjury and unlawful surveillance of citizens.

These charges, according to Judge Kwon, are not enough to have him detained, as they are deemed in line with his duty.

Out of a total of 10 secretarial divisions under Cheong Wa Dae, the civil affairs division is the most powerful — practically third in command after the president and presidential chief of staff.

The division oversees the prosecution, police, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Tax Service.

It is in charge of gathering information about public sentiment on socially critical issues, providing the presidential office with legal strategies and vetting individuals before naming them to high ranking posts. The height of irony is that the division monitors and disciplines public officials engaged in corruption.

Given the crucial powers granted to the division — absolute authority over investigation and personnel management — the division has been named the prime nexus of power where it is almost impossible not to be corrupt or abuse its power.

Woo, who began working at the division in May 2014 and was promoted to secretary in February 2015, remained there for 20 months until he resigned in October last year, following the emergence of the influence-peddling scandal that centered around Choi Soon-sil.

Woo is known to have received outstanding evaluations from Park especially for effectively controlling the prosecution — and by extension the police — using his connections as a former prosecutor.

Woo had telephone conversations on over 1,000 occasions with high-ranking justice ministry officials, all of whom are his friends, both before and after the corruption scandal broke out. The figures include Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office head Lee Young-ryeol and the senior justice ministry official overseeing the prosecution Ahn Tae-keun. They all denied any wrongdoing claiming the conversations were about official duties, not personal favors.

Meanwhile, the prosecution has come under criticism yet again, for failing to include the charge of obstructing the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office into alleged malfeasance of the Coast Guard in the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014 to minimize the blowback on the Park administration. It also failed to include the charge of his personal corruption including embezzlement of his family-owned company Jeonggang, a move indicating the prosecution’s unwillingness to hold him to a scrupulous standard.