Shame on the devil
Published: 24 Nov. 2008, 22:49
Kim Min-seok, a supreme council member of the Democratic Party, was arrested on Monday. This event put an end to an old-fashioned political scandal, and the court dealt with it in strict fairness. Both Kim and the Democratic Party should look back on the past and take away valuable political lessons. They must behave in a more responsible manner in the future.
Kim and the Democratic Party have never shaken off the fetters of old customs, from start to finish regarding this case. It is shameful that their ideas were nothing but an anachronism. Although he is alleged to have taken hundreds of millions of won in political bribes, they show no signs of cooperating, saying the investigation is a “political crackdown” and is “politically motivated.” Later, they made the unbelievable excuse that a virtuous person gladly gave Kim no-strings-attached money just like in the novel “Daddy-Long-Legs.”
However, this proved to be far from true. Since the police only began to investigate the case after a report by an informant who knows Kim well, the expression “political target” is unsuitable. In view of this sentence in an e-mail he received, “We can say I borrowed the money if anything goes wrong later,” the way money changed hands seems anything but pure. Their arrogance in refusing to accept the court’s arrest warrant shows that they are trapped in the practice of antiquated politics. After Kim twice refused to show up for scheduled court hearings, the court issued an arrest warrant. However, he and his party physically resisted.
The name they are calling the nation’s judiciary - “a poodle of the administration” - is nowhere near convincing. Although such a pitiful party stands behind Kim, who will believe it? The shameful behavior of Kim and the Democratic Party has caused people to shudder to think about destroying evidence.
His 26-day sit-in will serve as unfavorable evidence against Kim from a judicial perspective. It will also be remembered in history for lowering the Democratic Party’s political standing.
More miserably, there are suspicions that Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun tried to conduct backdoor negotiations in a meeting with Grand National Chairman Park Hee-tae so that the investigation on Kim would not involve detention.
The Grand National Party was known to implore prosecutors for mercy, in its attempt to ask for cooperation in dealing with budget and bills later.
But the judiciary stood tough even when politicians tried to provoke a useless quarrel. We hope that it will tell the truth and shame the devil using the law of conscience.
Kim and the Democratic Party have never shaken off the fetters of old customs, from start to finish regarding this case. It is shameful that their ideas were nothing but an anachronism. Although he is alleged to have taken hundreds of millions of won in political bribes, they show no signs of cooperating, saying the investigation is a “political crackdown” and is “politically motivated.” Later, they made the unbelievable excuse that a virtuous person gladly gave Kim no-strings-attached money just like in the novel “Daddy-Long-Legs.”
However, this proved to be far from true. Since the police only began to investigate the case after a report by an informant who knows Kim well, the expression “political target” is unsuitable. In view of this sentence in an e-mail he received, “We can say I borrowed the money if anything goes wrong later,” the way money changed hands seems anything but pure. Their arrogance in refusing to accept the court’s arrest warrant shows that they are trapped in the practice of antiquated politics. After Kim twice refused to show up for scheduled court hearings, the court issued an arrest warrant. However, he and his party physically resisted.
The name they are calling the nation’s judiciary - “a poodle of the administration” - is nowhere near convincing. Although such a pitiful party stands behind Kim, who will believe it? The shameful behavior of Kim and the Democratic Party has caused people to shudder to think about destroying evidence.
His 26-day sit-in will serve as unfavorable evidence against Kim from a judicial perspective. It will also be remembered in history for lowering the Democratic Party’s political standing.
More miserably, there are suspicions that Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun tried to conduct backdoor negotiations in a meeting with Grand National Chairman Park Hee-tae so that the investigation on Kim would not involve detention.
The Grand National Party was known to implore prosecutors for mercy, in its attempt to ask for cooperation in dealing with budget and bills later.
But the judiciary stood tough even when politicians tried to provoke a useless quarrel. We hope that it will tell the truth and shame the devil using the law of conscience.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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