Meaningless mud fight

It is more than disappointing to see the Democratic Party and the party’s senior member Kim Min-seok refuse to accept the court’s arrest warrant on Kim. It is also sad to see that Kim, once considered a maverick who may open a new era in local politics, is now trapped in the practice of antiquated politics. The Democratic Party is losing validity as the biggest opposition party because it is trying to protect him.

The court issued the arrest warrant for Kim, who is suspected of receiving bribes, after he refused to show up for scheduled court hearings, as he was deemed capable of running away or destroying evidence. Nevertheless Kim and the Democratic Party are showing no signs of budging, saying the investigation is a “political crackdown” and a “politically motivated investigation.”

First, what Kim and the Democratic Party are claiming is nowhere near convincing. First of all, they seem to be confused between the court and the prosecutors. It is not the prosecutors, which Kim called the “poodle of the administration,” who issued the arrest warrant. It was the prosecutors who sought the arrest. But at the end of the day, it was the court that issued the warrant.

The court requested Kim to make an appearance for the court hearings to hear his side of the story, but Kim and the Democratic Party refused to accept even this proposal, meaning they have dumped this golden opportunity to make their case in front of the court. This refusal to accept the arrest warrant is clearly an act that ignores the nation’s jurisdictional order.

The arrest warrant makes clear the charges on Kim. The money Kim received, unlike Kim’s claims, was not charity work given with no conditions. The fact that he received the money through several financial accounts made under other people’s identities and the fact that he told the donor via e-mail that “we can say I borrowed the money if anything goes wrong later,” clearly indicated that the transaction should be subject to the prosecutors’ investigation and the court’s arrest warrant.

Kim and the Democratic Party should immediately respond. Kim might well fear imprisonment in this cold, hard winter, but responding to the law enforcement procedure is better for his future political career.

The Democratic Party should also stop this meaningless mud fight and restore its credibility.

No voters will buy the anachronistic claim to label the legitimate law enforcement procedure as a political crackdown.