ED Reminiscent of 'old evils'

Former environment minister faces arrest for 'blacklist'

Ex-Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung is likely to be the first former Cabinet member of the Moon Jae-in government to be arrested on criminal charges. She is suspected of abusing her authority to force heads of public organizations affiliated with her ministry to resign only because they were appointed by President Moon's predecessor, the ousted Park Geun-hye.

A local court will hold a hearing Monday to determine the validity of an arrest warrant for Kim, which the prosecution requested on Friday. If the court issues the warrant, she will be put in jail. In that case, she should cooperate with investigators to shed light on her “blacklist” case.

At the core of the power abuse scandal is whether Kim actually pressured chiefs and executives of the ministry-affiliated organizations, including the Korea Environment Corp. Kim has so far denied involvement, but investigators have secured documents stating the ministry conducted an undue inspection of those executives until they resigned.

In the end, many of the executives had to submit their resignations, caving in to pressure from the ministry. Prosecutors have confirmed that Kim had been systemically involved in drawing up the blacklist of the targeted executives. Prosecutors also suspect that presidential officials might have been deeply implicated in the scandal.

The case is reminiscent of a blacklist of up to 10,000 artists, entertainers, and other cultural figures classified as anti-government and leftist elements by the conservative Park administration. A former culture minister and other ranking officials were found guilty of making the list and prevent those listed from receiving state subsidies.

It is inevitable for the prosecution to conduct a probe of presidential officials in charge of personnel matters. Cheong Wa Dae has repeated that it knew nothing about the new blacklist scandal. It has also denied that the blacklist existed, arguing that it was only a “checklist.”

Some critics speculate that President Moon might have played a certain role in the scandal to replace public organizations' chiefs, executives and auditors with his confidants. If that turns out to be true, it would be not only a grave crime, but also a repetition of the mistakes of his predecessors.

This explains why the prosecution should conduct a thorough and fair investigation no matter who masterminded the case. It will also serve as a litmus test for President Moon, who has vowed to root out “old evils” of the previous governments.