By Lee Kyung-min
The independent counsel team is investigating whether an online group led by a power blogger had been threatening the late Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, former floor leader of the Justice Party to provide favors in return for offering illegal political funds, focusing on the suspected intimidation after the 61-year-old committed suicide Monday. He was on the team's questioning list for receiving money from the group led by the influential blogger nicknamed Druking, the central figure in the online opinion-rigging scandal. In a suicide note, Roh admitted to receiving 40 million won ($38,000) but said there were no illicit favors sought or exchanged.
The team led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing to determine whether the blogger's group threatened Roh to make him comply with the group's unidentified demands in return for the illicit funds.
In a tweet after the presidential election, Druking indicated discontent against the Justice Party, saying, “I'm warning now. I'll ruin Sim Sang-jung, Kim Jong-dae and Roh Hoe-chan with news about the last general election.” Roh received the money from Druking's group ahead of the 2016 election.
Huh said related figures will be questioned, it added, following reviews of phone call records exchanged between the group members and Roh.
The team will resume questioning of a lawyer surnamed Do, a key suspect in the scandal. Do, a high school friend of Roh, allegedly introduced Roh to the blogger. He had been detained over his suspected involvement in giving 50 million won to Roh but was released after a district court rejected the prosecution's request to issue an arrest warrant. The team's planned questioning was scrapped Monday due to Roh's sudden suicide.
The team's aparent shift in focus from Roh's receiving illicit political funds to the group's intimidation followed criticism that the investigation veered off its initial course by suddenly targeting the late lawmaker, who was not a primary suspect in the opinion-rigging scandal. In a statement, members of the Justice Party expressed deep regret over the team's “misplaced priority,” apparently referring to the intensified scrutiny of Roh, who it said must not have been the “final objective the team pursued.”
The scandal initially zeroed in on ruling Democratic Party of Korea members including close aides to President Moon Jae-in, because the blogger's group allegedly used illegal software to boost the popularity of Moon in the lead up to the presidential election in May last year, hoping their “successful months-long campaigning efforts” would be rewarded.
But later they used the same tools to disparage Moon after Kim Kyoung-soo, Moon's key aide and now governor of South Gyeongsang Province, after the governor dismissed the blogger's demand that Do be appointed the consul general of Korea in Osaka, Japan.
Meanwhile, attention is growing over the law governing political funds, following related remarks in Roh's suicide note. Under the law established in 1965, a politician can receive only up to 5 million won in political donations from an individual. They can only receive up to 150 million won a year with the amount doubling to 300 million won in an election year. Lawmakers are banned from receiving money from organizations or institutions, which is deemed corporate sponsorship. Those violating the law are subject to up to five years in prison or a 10 million won fine. Those convicted and given a 1 million won fine or harsher punishment are stripped of their National Assembly seat. They can also be banned from running for public positions for between five to 10 years.
Lawmakers say they need up to 20 million won per month to engage in “active and normal” political activities, which include assistants' salaries, rent and maintenance fees for their offices, as well as money to pay for meals or drinks when meeting with voters.