By Lee Hyo-sik
Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam has been embroiled in an escalating controversy over his alleged influence-peddling in the prosecution’s recent investigation into Hanwha Group’s embezzlement scandal.
Lee has been suspected of having pressured investigators not to seek an arrest warrant for a Hanwha executive, compromising the independence of prosecutors, while having openly said he would replace the head of the investigation unit.
Minister Lee also allegedly asked investigators in Ulsan last year not to indict members of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) who were facing charges of breaking election laws in the run-up to the June 2 local elections.
In response to such allegations, the Justice Ministry flatly denied them, insisting no senior ministry officials made any calls to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office to affect the Hanwha investigation. “No one at the Justice Ministry gave such orders to the district prosecutors’ office. The allegations are entirely groundless,” it said in a statement.
According to prosecution sources Friday, a senior Justice Ministry official allegedly called a senior prosecutor at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office at the height of the latter’s probe into Hanwha Group, saying Minister Lee wanted investigators not to seek an arrest warrant for the group’s former chief financial officer.
Under the law governing the operation of the public prosecutors’ office, the justice minister can exert influence over the prosecution only through the prosecutor general. The minister is not allowed to speak with low-ranked prosecutors about ongoing investigations or order subordinates to manipulate the probe.
Lee is also suspected of having said that he would replace Nam Gi-chun, chief of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, in meetings with senior ministry officials in December when the court denied issuing an arrest warrant for Hanwha Group’s former chief financial officer.
But Nam voluntarily tendered his resignation before the personnel reshuffle of senior prosecutors on Jan. 28, taking responsibility for his office’s failure to obtain arrest warrants for Hanwha Group executives.
Two days later, the district office indicted Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon without physical detention on charges of embezzling and misappropriating company funds, along with 10 group executives and accountants suspected of helping Kim amass hundreds of billions of won illicitly and evade taxes.
Meanwhile, another influence-peddling allegation has emerged against Minister Lee.
According to multiple prosecution sources, a senior official called the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office in March last year to state the justice minister’s views on the latter’s investigation into eight GNP members under probe for election law violation.
The GNP members were suspected of offering bribes to managers of local newspapers ahead of the June 2 local elections in a bid to help elect GNP candidates become heads of district offices and city councilors.
According to an investigator at the time, a senior Justice Ministry official called and asked investigators not to indict the GNP members. But Nam, who was serving as the chief of the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office between August 2009 and July 2010, rejected the request. The office indicted the eight individuals in early April.