hankyoreh

Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam takes questions from reporters as he arrives at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul’s Seocho district on Mar. 23

Though they have finished the in-person questioning of former president Park Geun-hye, Prosecutors are still trying to decide whether to ask for an arrest warrant for Park. While they had initially been planning to make that decision by this past weekend, the decision has now been delayed until this week. Recently, there is even news that Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam has been seeking the advice of respected veteran Prosecutors, including former Prosecutor Generals. Reportedly, the Prosecutors’ Special Investigation Headquarters will soon be submitting a report summing up its investigation findings to Kim, leading to a decision by the beginning or middle of this week.

It’s undesirable to delay the decision about requesting the arrest warrant for a full week after completing the in-person questioning of a former president. This could have adverse effects or even create the impression that the Prosecutors are indecisive. The fact is that the important work was completed during two investigations by the Special Investigation Headquarters and by the team led by Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo. If the evidence is clear and if all the testimony has been received from related parties, Prosecutors should stop wavering and be decisive. Even Kim’s declaration that “this is matter must solely be decided by law and principle and the circumstances of the investigation” suggested that he was close to making up his mind.

The charges against Park are basically all in the open. Considering that the people implicated in the main charge of bribery, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, are already in jail, the in-person questioning probably served little purpose beyond providing material for writing the report.

With Park not apologetic but defiant about the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold her impeachment, her detention is supported by an overwhelming portion of the public, more than 70%. There are also clear signs that evidence is being destroyed, with the Blue House raising suspicions by bringing in paper shredders and by refusing to allow a search warrant to be served.

On top of that, there have even been indications of organized resistance recently. There was reportedly talk about using Molotov cocktails against the police to create the justification for declaring martial law in a group chatroom on KakaoTalk that includes Gangnam District Mayor Shin Yeon-hee. This is consistent with the attitude that Park has adopted: on the day she left the Blue House, she refused to accept her impeachment, saying that “the truth will come out, though it may take some time.” Before being questioned by Prosecutors, she only made a brief, perfunctory statement in which she said she “regretted” what had happened. Her behavior is far removed from genuine remorse or a real apology.

Given Park’s behavior, showing lenience to her simply because she is a former president is not consistent with law or principle. While some people are worried about the country’s reputation, going easy on a person who behaves with such audacity even after trampling on the Constitution and the laws will only make the world think poorly of South Korea‘s level of democracy and the rule of law. No matter how we look at it, the time has come for the prosecutors to make a brave decision.

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