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Paik Un-gyu, the former minister of trade and industry who is being investigated by prosecutors for allegations of forcing the heads of ministry-related organizations to resign, leaves Seoul Dongbu Detention Center on June 15 after a local court dismissed the warrant for his detention. (Yonhap News)

On Wednesday, a South Korean court refused to grant prosecutors a warrant for the detention of Paik Un-gyu, the former trade minister who is suspected of having pressured the heads of government agencies to tender their resignations during the presidency of Moon Jae-in. While acknowledging that most of the charges had merit, the court said that some remained doubtful. The court also denied that Paik posed a flight risk or might destroy evidence, which are other grounds for taking a defendant into custody.

While it remains unclear how the investigation will progress, the court’s ruling has effectively slammed the brakes on the prosecutors’ reckless push to jail defendants before the trial. Considering that prosecutors didn’t raid the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy until March 25 — just after the presidential election — after sitting on the case for a full three years, critics are accusing them of catering to the tastes of the new president.

Nevertheless, the prosecutors are gearing up to investigate figures from the previous administration, including Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk, who worked under the Blue House senior secretary for personnel management.

That’s not all. As prosecutors investigate allegations that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family helped the Democratic Party put together its campaign pledges in the presidential election, they recently officially requested all government ministries to check for similar incidents within their respective organizations. That indicates their intention to expand the scope of investigations.

The police have also launched a sweeping investigation of their own. They recently raided 129 locations in connection with allegations raised in the presidential election that Kim Hye-gyeong, wife of current assemblyman (and defeated presidential candidate) Lee Jae-myung, misappropriated a corporate credit card reserved for official business. The police also raided Seongnam City Hall on Thursday in connection with an alleged sweetheart deal in a development project in the Baekhyeon neighborhood.

It’s unusual for law enforcement to race ahead with investigations targeting a defeated presidential candidate or members of the previous administration so early in a new administration. These investigations seem even more suspicious given the prosecution service’s chokehold on the new administration, led by a former prosecutor general himself, who has appointed a close ally as minister of justice and positioned prosecutors from his clique in key posts in the prosecution service.

After the Democratic Party complained about what it regards as “political retaliation,” Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said Thursday that “the public will certainly not think it makes much sense for the investigation of serious crimes to be labeled as ‘retaliation,’” adding that “no one is above the law.”

To be sure, criminal allegations ought to be investigated, but those investigations must maintain political neutrality and impartiality. The investigation of first lady Kim Keon-hee in connection with stock manipulation at Deutsch Motors hasn’t made any progress, and an investigation into an alleged sweetheart deal in a development project in the Gongheung District in Yangpyeong — with ties to Yoon’s mother-in-law — is at a standstill, too.

To avoid suspicions that investigations into Democratic Party figures are politically motivated, prosecutors should also be rigorous in investigating the current administration. They need to demonstrate that “no one is above the law” not through words, but through deeds.

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