Prosecution Under Siege
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The prosecution faces an uphill battle in a fresh attempt to charge former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook with having taken bribes from a medium-sized construction firm following her acquittal on similar charges last week.
The prosecution is taking a beating not only in the court but at the National Assembly, drawing criticism not only from the opposition parties but from governing Grand National Party members as well for what is seen as "retaliatory" and "politically-oriented" investigations.
Prosecutors said they will appeal the ruling by the district court in favor of Han and made it clear that they will investigate several other construction companies over similar bribery allegations.
"The latest investigation was initiated through information we received in a tip-off. I don't think it's right to delay the investigation because of political considerations," Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam said at a parliamentary session Monday.
Lee said the prosecution will continue to investigate the bribery case.
However, even Han's political foes are denouncing the prosecution, fearing a backlash from the investigations in the local election slated for June 2.
The Seoul Central Court last Friday cleared Han of charges that she had received $50,000 from Kwak Young-wook, the former CEO of Korea Express, on Dec. 20, 2006 at a luncheon at her office in exchange for helping him gain a top post at a state-run company.
The court doubted the credibility of Kwak, the only witness to the scene, as he gave inconsistent testimony. He claimed to have been intimidated by days-long interrogations.
Prosecutors vowed to appeal no later than April 16. Kim Joo-hyun, a top official, claimed that the court made a biased decision.
He said, "If you find the bribe-giver not credible, why trust the taker?" The next step has already been taken. Investigators from the Seoul Central Public Prosecutors' Office raided offices of a construction company and its subsidiaries as well as its auditing firm last Thursday over suspicions that its owner had provided about 900 million won ($800,000) in bribes to the former prime minister.
After their first defeat, they called in Baek Jong-heon, chairman of Prime Group, who was at the same dinner on Dec. 20, 2006 at her office, for questioning Sunday.
Opposition lawmakers, civic activists and others labeled the move as a political gambit and called on Justice Minister Lee and Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu to resign.
Han denounced it as "electioneering" as the election is in less than 50 days. "I will not give into the politically-biased and wrongfully targeted investigation anymore," she said. Han reiterated that she had neither seen nor received any bribes.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the GNP also called the prosecution "shameful." In a radio interview, he said, "Taking a cheap shot at Han after losing a game isn't such a good idea."
He also advised the investigators not to leak information and sources to the press, which is banned by law.
Other lawmakers of the same party, including supporters of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, denounced the hasty and vigorous moves, worrying that it could stimulate the supporters of opposition parties to vote for Han, who is one of the strongest opposition candidates to be the next Seoul mayor.
Rep. Won Hee-ryong of the GNP, who is also preparing for the mayoral election said, "The excessive investigation will only give Han an image of 'wrongfully accused by the incumbent administration' and give her opportunities for publicity."