Suspicions have been raised that powerful institutions such as the National Tax Service (NTS) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) have been mobilized to block reports of suspicions surrounding President Lee Myung-bak. Even the arrest of the NTS senior official Ahn Won-ku, who has been suggesting serious accusations, is suspected of being an attempt to silence him. One must ask what they are so afraid of.

In viewing Ahn’s publicized report, it appears the Lee administration made serious attempts to block reports of suspicions regarding property in Seoul’s Dogok neighborhood. The report says that when it appeared that the Monthly Chosun, published by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, would publish a story that said the NTS had secured a document showing that President Lee was the real owner of the Dogok property that had become the center of controversy in the 2007 election, the NTS, NIS and Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) officials lobbied through several channels to have Ahn’s report kept from being released. It says on Oct. 20, Chosun Ilbo president Bang Sang-hoon met directly with NTS Commissioner Baek Yong-ho, a chief aide to President Lee. Since Bang had brought to the meeting with him the content of the article regarding the suspicions, it is clear what they were discussing. In fact, after the meeting, the article was not published. It is natural to suspect a deal was made.

One suspects that the pressure on Ahn is along the same lines. Ahn said that during a regular tax audit, he found a POSCO Engineering and Construction document that states that the real owner of property in the Dogok neighborhood was Lee Myung-bak. If this is true, Lee must be pressed for violating the Public Servants’ Ethics Law and election law. It is also decisive evidence that turns the result of the prosecutor’s BBK investigation, which cleared Lee.

As a result, Ahn says, he was designated by the Cheong Wa Dae as a person snooping behind the president’s back. He says after voicing complaints, he received even more serious pressure out of fear that he would leak the suspicions. If this is the reason Ahn has been placed under emergency arrest despite there being no emergency requiring his detention, then prosecutors have also been mobilized to silence him.

In the end, one cannot help but also find fault with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, which shut its mouth as desired for the Cheong Wa Dae. The Monthly Chosun decided not to publish the Dogok article, even though it was completely written. If the Monthly Chosun made this decision not because the article was incomplete but because of Lee administration lobbying, it cannot avoid criticism that it has abandoned the watchdog role of the media. If it made this decision, as is suspected, with privileges such as entrance into terrestrial broadcasting in mind, it is even more shameful. The Lee administration must stop trying to cover up the suspicions and start revealing the truth. The media must also rid itself of its hesitance to monitor the authorities.

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