The prosecution must reflect on itself now
Published: 06 Feb. 2024, 20:04
The former chief justice was suspected of “trading” key trials for the introduction of a separate court devoted to appeals and managing a black list to give disadvantages to certain judges. The Supreme Court conducted an internal investigation three times but could not find any unlawful deals. And yet, the prosecution pushed for a full investigation of the court by mobilizing over 50 prosecutors for eight months after former president Moon Jae-in visited the top court to demand a thorough investigation and former chief justice Kim Myeong-su faithfully complied with it. But Yang and other senior judges indicted by the prosecution were found not guilty.
Samsung’s case was no different. The prosecution drew the conclusion from the beginning that the merge of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries were designed to serve Lee’s hereditary succession of Samsung Group. Prosecutors raided the corporation on more than 50 occasions to find evidence and summoned more than 110 top and mid-level employees up to 430 times. And yet, the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for Lee was rejected by the court.
Due to the prosecution’s methodical investigation, Samsung could not make decisions on major investments for nearly six years. Leading investigators of the two cases were current President Yoon Suk Yeol, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at the time; People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon, then a senior prosecutor at the prosecutors’ office; and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Bok-hyun, a former chief prosecutor with expertise in financial crimes.
The prosecution must reflect on itself. It must stop its rush to arrest suspects after a search and seizure. Before the court’s ruling on the Samsung chairman, Gov. Lee, who had pressed on indicting him, expressed hope for a clearing of Samsung’s judicial risks. But the prosecution must stop its habitual appeals to a higher court. We hope that the prosecution does not help weaken the competitiveness of top companies.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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