Top Prosecutor Is Subpoenaed

The National Assembly's Judiciary Committee decided Wednesday to call Prosecutor General Shin Seung-nam as a witness. The committee demanded that Mr. Shin appear at a hearing at 10 a.m. next Wednesday.

It said that the prosecutor general's testimony was necessary to uncover the truth about the allegation that the prosecution went easy on high officials or covered up evidence while investigating three major financial scandals.

The eight members of the committee from the opposition Grand National Party and United Liberal Democrats voted to call the top prosecutor. Seven lawmakers of the governing Millennium Democratic Party abstained. If Mr. Shin ignores the subpoena, the National Assembly can file a complaint against him. Representative Kim Yong-kyun of the Grand National Party said the prosecutor general should explain whether the prosecution minimized the scope of the investigations or neglected to consider crucial evidence while probing the financial scandals.

Mr. Kim said Mr. Shin's recent public remark that the opposition parties are attacking him and calling for his ouster even though he did not do anything wrong made it inevitable that he be called to testify before the committee.

Mr. Shin continued to maintain Wednesday that he cannot testify at the National Assembly because doing so would damage the political neutrality of his office. Representative Lee Jae-oh, the opposition floor leader, said if Mr. Shin continues to refuse the request, the Grand National Party would introduce a bill calling for his dismissal.

Reacting to the news, officials at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said they had expected the committee to subpoena Mr. Shin. A prosecutor said the office's position that the prosecutor general should not appear at the National Assembly has not changed. Mr. Shin reportedly ordered prosecutors not to overreact to the Judiciary Committee's decision.

Another prosecutor said former prosecutor generals － in 1989 and 1999 － were allowed to submit written explanations of similar charges. He added that for the opposition parties to be so insistent on Mr. Shin appearing showed the move was politically-motivated.

Citing Article 119 of the law governing the legislature, the prosecution claimed the justice minister, not the prosecutor general, is obliged to appear before the National Assembly. Justice Minister Choi Kyung-won has appeared before the Assembly once during this session.

by Chun Young-gi