Home > Opinion > Columns

The path of the pine caterpillar, and the path of those who lead

Published: 10 Dec. 2025, 00:02

Park Jin-seok

The author is the deputy editor of Content Division Two at the JoongAng Ilbo.

One day some 20 years ago, after weeks of chasing a trail, investigators finally found the “entry point.” It was a bank account held under the name of a housekeeper connected to a key broker. The special counsel appointed for the Lee Yong-ho scandal followed the threads from that account until they uncovered a larger reservoir of money. Some of those funds, they discovered, had circulated around the son of then-President Kim Dae-jung. “We have seen what should not have been seen,” one official said.

But the special counsel could go no further. Its mandate expired. In the early spring of 2002, public opinion called for a revision to the law to extend the investigation, yet the ruling party rejected the idea.

Jeon Hyun-heui, head of the Democratic Party’s task force on the three special counsel investigations, speaks during a full meeting of the committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 21. The party leadership has declared plans to launch a second comprehensive special counsel. [YONHAP]

The case was handed to prosecutors. Despite interference from the ruling party at the time, prosecutors dismantled the reservoir of illicit funds and ultimately arrested the president's son, Kim Hong-up, for accepting bribes.

Special counsel teams operate under fixed deadlines. Time is short, and uncovering the full picture is nearly impossible. That is why unresolved cases have often been passed on to permanent investigative bodies. Even the three special counsels tasked with probing allegations involving former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife — one of the longest and largest operations of its kind — could not bring every fact to light. The National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency now appears ready to take up what remains. The police have created a special investigation headquarters for the three cases and completed personnel assignments. For the agency, it is a rare chance to handle an exceptionally large case and prove its investigative capacity. Yet just as the sword is being drawn, it may have to be sheathed.

The leadership of the Democratic Party (DP) has declared that it will establish a “second comprehensive special counsel.” The plan is to combine unresolved matters from all three previous special counsels and create a new team. This has never happened since the special counsel system was introduced in 1999. But given today’s political climate — filled with precedents that lack both lineage and logic — little is surprising.

At the front of this chain reaction stands former President Yoon, whose declaration of martial law has returned to public debate. His failed attempt has raised concerns that it could offer guidance for others to do the same.

Even so, it is unlikely that the DP's attempt to counter poison with poison will escape scrutiny. If the idea of a “relay of special counsels” becomes established, future political forces will invoke the precedent to demand a second, third or fourth special counsel whenever it suits them. Permanent investigative bodies would lose their reason for being.

The proposal for a dedicated court division is even more troubling. If conservatives were to regroup into a moderate majority, win control of the government and legislature and then cite today’s precedent to demand a special court for former presidents, how could anyone object?

Watching political leaders act without evidence of careful judgment brings to mind the pine processionary caterpillars described in Jean-Henri Fabre’s “The Life of the Caterpillar” (1916). Dozens march in a line, each following the one ahead. The lead caterpillar determines the fate of the group, yet it has no intelligence beyond instinct. When Fabre placed the line along the rim of a flowerpot, the leader simply circled it. Once the tail met the head and formed a complete loop, the leader became indistinguishable from the others. The caterpillars lost track of who led them into danger and simply followed one another toward collective ruin.

A poem by Yi Yang-yeon, a late Joseon official, reads: “When walking across a snow-covered field, do not wander without thought, for the footprints you leave today will someday guide those who follow.” The renowned independence activist Kim Gu (1876-1949) is said to have carried these lines in his heart throughout his life.

Song Eon-seog, floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks during a general assembly of party lawmakers at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 27, criticizing the special counsel investigation. A banner in the background reads “Condemn political retaliation and unlawful special counsel probes.” [YONHAP]

Leaders may choose the path of the caterpillar or the path of those who walk ahead with intention. But those who govern a nation owe citizens and future generations careful deliberation so that harmful precedents are not repeated. Long-term national planning cannot be built on impulsive, poorly considered policies. With the plan for a dedicated court division now halted, there is a chance to pause and reflect for the sake of history and the future.

The same political forces now demanding a second special counsel — after extending the mandate of the three special counsels to the legal limit — are the successors of the ruling party that rejected extending the Lee Yong-ho investigation more than 20 years ago. This may be an opportune moment for them to revisit their own history.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.