ED Arrest warrant for Park

Court’s decision should be based solely on law

Prosecutors said Monday they will seek to arrest former President Park Geun-hye to further question her over allegations that she took bribes and abused presidential power. A warrant hearing will be held Thursday at the Seoul Central District Court to review the validity of the application.

The prosecution’s decision came less than a week after it first questioned Park, who was officially removed from office on March 10, for more than 20 hours on March 21. The swift application for an arrest warrant for Park reflects Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam’s determination to conclude the probe early and prosecute her by early April to minimize the impact of the case on the rescheduled presidential election on May 9.

The prosecutors’ decision to take the ousted president into custody has triggered mixed responses. The Democratic Party of Korea, previously the largest opposition party, lauded it as a historic decision. The former ruling Liberty Korea Party, which was hoping for an investigation without detention, expressed regret about the decision.

Some of her supporters have stressed that her status as a former president should be considered and that is not desirable for the nation’s reputation to arrest Park. Such claims are irrational from the perspective of rule of law.

The prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for the disgraced leader is inevitable given Park’s shameless responses to the wide-ranging allegations of bribery and abuse of power. She has denied all charges and she has refused to openly acknowledge the legitimacy of the Constitutional Courts’ ruling to uphold the National Assembly’s impeachment vote.

As the prosecution said, the case is too grave, as the suspect has abused her status and presidential authority to receive money from businesses, infringed upon the management of business activity and passed on confidential state secrets. Also it would have been unfair not to seek an arrest warrant for Park since key accomplices such as her confidant Choi Soon-sil and other suspects in the scandal have also been arrested.

It is regrettable that the nation’s first female president faces the prospect of being arrested over a corruption scandal. The first president to be dismissed by impeachment has become Korea’s third president whom the prosecution has sought to arrest, after former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo in 1995.

Park’s fall from power should be a lesson for future presidents to lead by example by exercising their duties lawfully and transparently and staying away from corruption.

The court should deliver a decision on Park’s arrest solely based on law and she should fully accept the outcome.