By Lee Hyo-sik
An incumbent prosecutor has been indicted for his affiliation with progressive political parties and a refusal to voluntarily resign from his post. It is the first time an active prosecutor has been indicted in the nation’s history.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that a 33-year-old prosecutor, surnamed Yoon, was indicted without physical detention on charges of breaching the National Public Service Law, which prohibits public officials from engaging in political activities.
Yoon, who has been working at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office since February, was also charged with violating the Political Party Law by having memberships to two different political parties.
According to the prosecution, he became a member of the Uri Party, the predecessor of the main opposition Democratic Party, and the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) in March 2004. Yoon paid membership fees until June when he withdrew from the parties as investigators began looking into civil servants political ties.
“Yoon left the two political parties in June when the investigation started. But he did not submit a letter of resignation as requested by the prosecution. We had no other choice but to indict him in accordance with stricter rules applied to prosecutors,” a senior prosecutor at the Busian office said.
He said Yoon would not have been indicted if he had voluntarily quit like a 29-year-old prosecutor surnamed Kang, who stepped down from her post last month after she was found to have paid membership fees to the DLP. In return, the prosecution did not indict Kang, who was stationed in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
“It is unfortunate that Yoon wants to go all the way to court. He will be suspended from duty, beginning Wednesday, and be hit with disciplinary action,” the official said.
Besides Yoon, the prosecution indicted 1,647 public officials and school teachers across the country without physical detention, Wednesday, for allegedly violating laws banning civil servants from carrying out political activities and giving money to political parties. They were alleged to have paid a monthly membership fee of up to 20,000 won ($18) to the DLP.
Under the laws, public officials are prohibited from joining political parties and only official members can donate to the parties.
In May 2010, the prosecution indicted 273 school teachers and public workers on similar charges. They were ordered to pay fines of up to 500,000 won each by the court. But both the prosecution and defendants have since appealed to a higher court.