ED Disappearance of politics

Time to ensure independence of prosecution

The ongoing developments regarding the beleaguered Justice Minister Cho Kuk is raising the question about whether the Moon Jae-in government and the ruling party are any different from the previous Park Geun-hye administration. President Moon vowed to create a fair society in his May 2017 inauguration. But the appointment of Cho, one of Moon's most trusted aides, as justice minister last month has only revealed the hypocritical nature of the ruling elite.

It was wrong for the President to pick Cho to lead the Ministry of Justice. Cho faces allegations that he and his wife engaged in admissions fraud for their daughter, made dubious investments in a private equity fund and operated a school foundation in unfair and illicit ways.

In the beginning, the controversy surrounding Cho was about his hypocritical behavior. He had been widely known as a reform-minded liberal calling for equal opportunities, fair play and justice, particularly for the poor and underprivileged, until he was nominated as justice minister in August. Cho, a law professor at Seoul National University, served as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs between May 2017 and July this year.

At the core of the controversy is that Cho and his family have so far enjoyed all the privileges of members of the elite in our society at the expense of the people. But now the episode has turned abruptly into an issue of the prosecution's “excessive” investigation of Cho and his family since allegedly 1.5 million supporters of Cho held a candlelit rally in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, Saturday.

The rally, the largest since the 2016 and 2017 candlelit protests against then President Park, followed Moon's warning to the prosecution about its probe into Cho last week. On Monday, Moon even called on the prosecution to work out its own reform plan. The President is apparently trying to save Cho by applying pressure on prosecutors to go easy on him and his family.

Yet such a move by Moon contradicts his own promise to push for prosecutorial reform which is aimed not only at preventing abuse of power by the law enforcement agency, but also ensuring its independence from political power. If he attempts to influence the prosecution to protect Cho, President Moon cannot avoid criticism for undermining the agency's independence.

When appointing Yoon Seok-youl as prosecutor general in July, Moon told the new prosecution chief that the agency should investigate, if necessary, the incumbent government sternly. His remarks indicated that sitting political power should not be exempt from any possible prosecutorial investigation if there are allegations about corruption or other wrongdoings. About two months later, Moon seems to be trying to undo what he said.

The brouhaha over Minister Cho has also caused the “disappearance of politics.” It is pitting the ruling Democratic Party of Korea against the main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party which is calling for Cho's resignation. It has also deepened a political deadlock. It is lamentable to see no dialogue and no negotiations at the National Assembly to break the impasse and normalize legislative operations.