By Park Si-soo
An independent counsel launched Thursday a full-scale investigation into about 100 former and incumbent prosecutors suspected of receiving bribes and sexual entertainment from a businessman for years. It will last up to 55 days.
It came nearly four months after “PD Notebook,” an investigative TV program, triggered the allegations based on its interviews with a Busan-based construction firm owner who confessed he had “sponsored” prosecutors in exchange for favorable treatments to his firm and himself.
In an episode aired on April 20, the 52-year-old businessman said he had doled out 600,000-2 million won ($540-1,800) in cash to prosecutors in Busan on a monthly basis and covered all cost of their drinking bouts which often involved visiting prostitutes for about two decades.
Among the alleged beneficiaries were then senior prosecutor Park Gi-joon at the Busan Prosecutors’ Office and Han Seung-chul at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
In June, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office reprimanded 10 prosecutors, including Park and Han, as proposed by a fact-finding committee, but it fell short of soothing the public outcry over the corruption, motivating lawmakers to endorse a bill to launch the independent counsel last month. The two officials offered to resign at the height of the scandal.
Headed by special prosecutor Min Kyung-sik appointed by President Lee Myung-bak, the squad will run the investigation for up to 55 days with 67 investigators, who are civic group activists, lawyers, police and prosecutors.
“To meet the timeline, I will step up the intensity of the investigation, focusing on our role of shedding light on the truth of the scandal,” Min said in an interview Thursday. “The investigation will not overly rely on testimonies. We will trace back all things possible to secure tangible evidence.”
Min did not rule out the possibility that the investigation could extend to former and incumbent officials at the court and tax agency as the probe unfolds.
The special prosecutor will soon summon the informant in Busan to his Seoul office. If deemed necessary, he will arrange a cross-examination between the informant and involved prosecutors.
Critics say the latest outbreak of a "sponsorship" scandal has disclosed the dark side of the current prosecution system that gives prosecutors the exclusive right to send cases to court. They also wield absolute influence in criminal investigations, with virtually no institution performing checks-and-balances.
Amid growing calls for decentralizing their authority, President Lee recently showed his determination to revamp the current system, garnering bipartisan support. One of the contemplated measures is establishing a standing independent counsel targeting corruption among high ranking and law enforcement officials.
The largest corruption scandal involving prosecutors surfaced in January 1999, when more than 300 prosecutors, judges and police officers were caught receiving bribes from a judge-turned-lawyer.