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DP’s political targeting repeats again

Published: 31 Jul. 2023, 20:23

A Democratic Party (DP) committee set up to attack the Yoon Suk Yeol administration for its “dictatorship through the prosecution” disclosed the names of four prosecutors investigating the suspicion that the Ssangbangwool (SBW) Group remitted $8 million to North Korea in return for favors for the “smart farm project” pushed by the Gyeonggi provincial government under Gov. Lee Jae-myung in 2019 — and for his possible reward visit to Pyongyang.

The committee denounced the prosecution for coaxing former SBW Chairman Kim Seong-tae into admitting the charge in order to arrest Lee, the current head of the DP. The committee said that the prosecution had indicted the ex-chairman of SBW by skipping some allegations of his alleged manipulation of the company’s stock prices, as a further investigation of the manipulation could make it difficult for prosecutors to turn it into a case of forced payment of the money to the North.

In turn, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon attacked the DP for engaging in obstruction of justice by taking advantage of its majority power to block an investigation of crimes committed by the party leader. “It is closer to the realm of crime, not of politics,” he said. In response, the DP continued attacking the justice minister for leading “political offensives” by “stepping in investigations by the prosecution.”

The DP provoked controversy at the end of last year by revealing the names and photos of prosecutors dealing with cases involving Lee. At that time, the posting of such information online was followed by malicious comments about prosecutors, including “Let’s root out the devilish group of political prosecutors!” This time, outrageous comments like “Let’s impeach the prosecutors!” are being posted. Inciting people only helps push our society to extreme confrontations without any reasonable debates.

Such campaigns are fundamentally flawed. The DP can raise issues in the standing committee meetings or legislative audit sessions, but the party chose a dangerous path toward encouraging its supporters to revolt against the prosecution — and broadly the government. That’s a shortcut to the destruction of democracy. Given its majority status — 168 seats in the 300-member legislature — the DP must allow its boss to proudly accept the investigation. If the party finds fault with the prosecution, it must follow the procedure and the system.

At the same time, the top law enforcement authority must not leave any room for misunderstanding without taking the wrong practices of the past. We urge the prosecution to look into the alleged corruption of the DP leader according to the law without any political calculations.