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Only a fair investigation can convince the people

Published: 01 Sep. 2024, 20:17

The Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office specified former President Moon Jae-in as a “suspect” in a bribery case when it requested a warrant for search and seizure on his daughter’s house to obtain evidence last Friday. The district prosecutors’ office believes that Thai Eastar Jet, owned by a former Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker, hired Moon’s former son-in-law as its executive manager in return for the lawmaker’s appointment as chair of the board of directors of Korea SMEs and Startups Agency in July 2018. The prosecution regards the 223 million won ($166,542) the son-in-law received from the airliner until April 2020 as a “bribe” from the lawmaker.

After Moon became a suspect in a bribery case, citizens have paid keen attention to the development, given the repeated punishments of former presidents for corruption. The DP criticized the prosecution for “ political retaliation.” Moon’s former officials said, “If the government thinks it can divert people’s hostilities toward the president by indicting the former president, that’s a critical mistake.”

But the recruitment of the president’s son-in-law with no experience in airline business as an executive of a foreign branch of a domestic airliner doesn’t look natural. All are free to choose an occupation, but if the employment was a tradeoff, that shakes the very foundation of democracy. The DP must calmly watch the results of the prosecution’s investigation instead of rushing to attack it. The majority party recklessly attempted to impeach a senior prosecutor investigating allegations against its leader, but the move was unanimously rejected by the Constitutional Court recently.

The prosecution also must recognize the volatility of the case involving the former president. The case was certainly not a complicated one, but the prosecution dragged its feet for three years without looking into the case. Then, the prosecution suddenly accelerated its investigation shortly before the April 10 parliamentary elections, which raises suspicion that it wants to help the government to turn the tide.

The prosecution reportedly wants to apply the direct bribery charge — not the third party bribery charge — to the former president. If the third party bribery is to be applied, the prosecution must prove the act of “illicit solicitation.” But it is very difficult due to strong denials by Moon’s former aides. Proving the act of bribery is not easy, either, because the prosecution must prove the economic partnership between Moon and his daughter’s family. That’s also not easy. If the prosecution cannot prove the legitimacy of either of the two charges, it cannot avoid criticism for political retribution. We hope the prosecution will investigate the case swiftly, strictly and fairly before it’s too late.