ED Airtight probe into public servants

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, right, speaks at a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday. He reassured officials that investigations into government officials will be speedy and follow all laws and regulations. Yonhap

The government has triggered concern with its decision to investigate officials over possible participation and cooperation in the insurrection caused by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, looking at individuals across 49 central administrative bodies. Seeking to provide reassurance, President Lee Jae Myung stressed that "rewarding merits and punishing faults is the most basic of basics in organizational management." He wrote on social media on Sunday that "surmounting insurrection and promoting active administrative work are both tasks that we must carry out." Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday further reiterated that the investigation must go ahead.

The plan is to set up a task force this week that will receive anonymous letters reporting suspicious actions on the part of government officials, including participation in or cooperation with insurrection activities. The investigations are then expected to proceed with interviews, screening of personal computers and checking mobile texts, if necessary.

Since the Prime Minister's Office made the recommendation and the president ordered the launch of the task force, bureaucratic circles have responded with consternation. The main opposition People Power Party is protesting the decision loudly, calling it a step to "ferret out" those who have ties with the former Yoon administration responsible for the martial law fiasco. PPP chief spokesman Choi Bo-yoon blasted it as "blade of political retaliation."

Yoon's Cabinet members and administrators have testified at the insurrection trials that they had no prior notice of the botched six-hour martial law imposition. Outside of the former president's inner circle and known accomplices, the question remains open how rank-and-file government officials could have known and participated.

Within bureaucratic circles, many wonder how the scope of "participation" and "cooperation" could be independently and objectively determined. Will it include attending official meetings, such as the one held by former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok after martial law was declared? What about expressing support or empathy for Yoon? The Prime Minister's Office has narrowed the list to 12 ministries and agencies that are the main focus of investigation. However, there is an obvious absence of trust regarding how participation and cooperation can be judged and consequences meted fairly based on anonymous reports.

The methods listed for investigating potential accomplices include requests to screen cellphone records, including texts. The Prime Minister's Office has said this will be a procedural request without digital forensics, but it verges on infringement of privacy. In addition, if government officials do not comply, they could be subject to disadvantages in their careers.

Many are harkening back to the most recent precedent, when former President Moon Jae-in implemented a program for the "elimination of deep-rooted evils" following former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment as the result of a massive corruption scandal. For a long time, this vicious cycle has been a part of Korean political culture. The Lee administration must demonstrate that it will "condemn the offense but not the perpetrator." It is high time for Korean political culture to move on and abandon attempts to seek justice that turn into attacks on political rivals. The investigation should also include phrases such as "reconciliation" and "unity" in its processes.

The government has said that after the investigations, officials may face administrative action, demotion or even criminal trial. The prime minister on Tuesday stressed that "investigations will take place within the necessary boundaries, carried out speedily without overdoing or underdoing it and then wrapped up." We will hold him to his word.