Prosecutors, Judges on Collision Course
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
A court's continued rejection of prosecution requests for an arrest warrant for Jung Yoon-jae have put prosecutors and judges on a collision course.
The prosecution Friday expressed discontent over the court's decision to turn down its request for an arrest warrant for Jung, the former protocol secretary to President Roh Moo-hyun.
Prosecutors claimed that the rejection has made it harder to find the truth about numerous allegations.
The rejection was the second snub to prosecutors, following a similar rebuff in the case of Shin Jeong-ah, the disgraced former Dongguk University assistant professor.
The court argued that allegations made in the request were not sufficient reason for an arrest and called for a more thorough investigation to secure concrete evidence.
The feud between them may be more severe than last year when the Seoul Central District Court turned down four request for warrants to arrest key figures from Lone Star Funds, who were accused of stock manipulation and tax evasion.
In its ruling, the court said it also turned down the request as there was no risk that Jung would flee or destroy evidence.
However, the prosecution claimed that the court made an exception as other key figures were arrested.
``If that is the reason, then we can only arrest a presidential aide only when he or she is a homeless wanderer,'' a prosecutor said.
Jung is being investigated over allegations that he received bribes from Kim Sang-jin, a building contractor, and is accused of having helped Kim win contracts for large-scale construction projects and to receive tax benefits through Chung Sang-gon, 53, a former regional tax office chief.
Prosecutor General Choung Sang-myoung Thursday called for the right to file an appeal against the refusal of an arrest warrant by the court and even suggested that he would request the Constitutional Court to look into the necessity of an appeal system.
Regarding the fierce criticism from prosecutors, judges argued that prosecutors attempt to abrogate the court's own right and criticized the flawed investigations by the prosecution.
``When the allegations about Shin and Jung were first raised, what did the prosecution do? They delayed the investigation and now they blame others when they face difficulties,'' a judge said.