ed Kleptocracy
KCC chairman must resign and face investigation
President Lee Myung-bak's right-hand man is under investigation for bribery and influence-peddling allegations involving his top aide. Choi See-joong, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has denied the claims. The former Gallup chairman must resign to take responsibility for the corruption scandal involving his 48-year-old assistant. Prosecutors must look into any implications involving Choi.
It may take time for the completion of the probe as Choi's trusted advisor is now hiding overseas. The prosecution must check whether the assistant, dubbed as Choi's adoptive child, pocketed kickbacks without reporting it to his boss.
An investigation must track down the final destination of the dirty money the assistant is said to have received.
The prosecution will undergo a public confidence test. They must look into one of the most powerful men under the Lee Myung-bak administration. They should not scratch only the surface of the case but must get to the root of it.
The opposition Democratic Unity Party is to demand a parliamentary probe into Choi when the investigation ends in anticlimax. Without a convincing probe, the scandal will continue to haunt the Lee administration in its twilight year.
Regardless of the results, it is advisable for Choi to resign. One of the longest-serving Cabinet members under the Lee administration must take moral accountability for the crimes his deputy allegedly committed.
Few would believe that lobbyists gave money to his aide without expecting influence from his boss. In addition, his former assistant became the target of bribery as Choi installed a henchman as a KCC official.
The chairman’s name has been on the lips of many people for his purported abuses of power. All allegations surrounding him should be subject to investigation.
Another reason for the septuagenarian’s resignation is the fact that Korea has seen a nosedive in the global competitiveness of its IT industry. He orchestrated policies going against the trend. He issued multiple broadcasting licenses only to conservative dailies. He tried to gag social networking services including Twitter and Facebook.
In the eyes of the public, he is a symbol of Lee’s cronyism and nepotism as he is an IT novice.
Rep. Lee Sang-deuk, an elder brother of President Lee, declared he would not run for re-election in the parliamentary contest in April. His non-candidacy came out after his trusted aide received $1 million in kickbacks from businessmen.
In the Confucianism-lingering society, bosses should take at least moral responsibility for the critical faults of those under them. The more allegations are denied, the more public suspicion will grow.
The chairman must ask his assistant to face questioning in Seoul if he wants to prove his innocence.
The President vowed to uproot crimes involving his cronies, family members and relatives in a speech Monday. Choi’s delay of resignation will burden his boss. His stepdown would not necessarily mean an acknowledgement of any involvement in abuses of power and influence-peddling. His innocence or culpability is what the prosecutors must determine. Prosecutors must uproot kleptocrats.