It is as if we are watching the famous American gangster film ``The Godfather." In South Korea, it's not about a movie but a real story about a high-profile corruption scandal surrounding a businessman, relatives of a former president and his confidants. What reminds people of such a film is that a supporting actor in the corruption drama had tried to strike a deal not to hurt family members of the former head of state.
The actor is none other than Roh Geon-pyeong, elder brother of former president Roh Moo-hyun. Last September, the brother met Choo Bu-ghil, a close aide to President Lee Myung-bak and former presidential secretary for public relations and planning, to propose that the Lee regime should leave the Roh family intact in anti-corruption crackdowns. The proposal sounds like a deal between two hostile mafia factions trying to protect each other's boss.
Roh Geon-pyeong also asked Choo to exclude Park Yeon-cha, CEO of Busan-based shoemaker Taekwang and financial supporter of Roh Moo-hyun, from the list of those subject to probes. It is apparent that Geon-pyeong had tried to protect Park and other confidants of the former president from a tax audit and other probes well before the scandal erupted. But his efforts backfired and the prosecution arrested Park on charges of tax evasion and bribery charges last December.
The arrest was a prelude to the ongoing corruption scandal. Geon-pyeong was also arrested on charges of taking illegal funds and peddling influence by taking advantage of his relation with then-President Roh. The scandal shows how corrupt the inner circle of the Roh regime was. People cannot but feel anger, frustration and betrayal as Roh, a self-declared Mr. Clean, had failed to prevent his family members and confidants from engaging in bribery, influence peddling and other corruption.
Roh finally admitted in his Web site posting Tuesday that he accepted money from Park to ``repay a debt." The prosecution earlier said that Geon-pyeong's son-in-law received $5 million from Park in February 2008. There are allegations that the money might have flowed into the Roh side. Park is also suspected of providing huge sums of bribes not only to Roh's aides but also to lawmakers and politicians of the governing and opposition camps.
The scandal is a political time bomb. Several lawmakers, politicians and bureaucrats were arrested or are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the corruption case. Former National Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong was summoned Monday for questioning over allegations that he took about 100 million won in illegal political funds from Park in 2006.
The prosecution should conduct a thorough investigation into the scandal to root out corruption. It must show that those implicated in the scandal cannot avoid charges and punishment no matter who they are. If necessary, the prosecution should question former President Roh to get to the bottom of the corruption case.
There is no doubt that the country cannot join the ranks of advanced countries without ushering in a clean society. The Lee administration is required to learn a lesson from the previous government and try not to repeat the same mistakes. President Lee's stress on pragmatism should not lead to compromise in the nation's fight against corruption. We hope he will become the first president to be free from corruption scandals.