[Editorial] Suspicions regarding Roh’s death

Posted on : 2009-05-28 12:54 KST Modified on : 2009-05-28 12:54 KST

It has come to light that details initially reported by police regarding the circumstances of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s death are inaccurate. The Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) Presidential Security Service (PSS) officer who was serving as the former President‘s bodyguard had left his post and had not been with Roh just before he fell to his death at Owl Rock, as he had claimed. Since Roh was alone for more than 30 minutes before his body was found, it is impossible to know exactly what happened in those final moments.

This confusion is said to have originated from the false account given by the former President’s bodyguard, but the greater fault lies with the police for conducting a sloppy investigation. They merely depended on the word of the bodyguard and neglected to carry out any supplementary investigation. Some hikers had come forward with claims that they saw the bodyguard alone at around 6:20 a.m., the time the bodyguard had claimed to have been with Roh, and yet no investigation took place to confirm either of these accounts. Nor did one take place even after it was communicated to police that the bodyguard was attempting to cover up the fact that he had gone on an errand to Jeongtowon Temple, a Buddhist temple located in Bongwha behind Roh’s home. Content included in the initial police report said that Roh and the bodyguard were seen standing together at Owl Rock by another bodyguard who remained at the guard post. This information cannot be true. As if the shoddy investigation were not enough, now the police are suspected of fabricating data.

The failure of the PSS is outside the bounds of common sense. This tragedy could have been averted if they had just upheld the basic protocol of having two or more bodyguards continuously monitoring their charge from a close distance at all times. It is difficult to understand how a dereliction of duty of this sort could have taken place with bodyguards of a former president. Clearly the responsibility falls on the PSS, which oversees bodyguard duties.

It also has to be ascertained whether there were any organized attempts to cover up these errors. It is a matter of common sense that the circumstances of Roh’s fall would have been communicated between bodyguards who were at the scene and PSS headquarters. In light of the fact that wireless transmissions went back and forth in an attempt to find the former President after he disappeared, it is impossible to completely rule out either the possibility that officials at the scene might have falsified a report regarding the circumstances of Roh‘s death or that PSS headquarters received a communication and opted to conceal the truth.

Indeed, there are quite a number of suspicions surrounding Roh’s death. Even though he made his intentions clear with his suicide note, some are now raising doubts that he jumped. These likely stems from the public‘s deep distrust of the current administration. The distrust and confusion have grown with the news of the sloppy investigation. As a result, police must work to dispel the public’s suspicions, even it means a full reopening of the investigation.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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