hankyoreh

the Chosun Ilbo

Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han reaffirmed that his ministry would crack down a voluntary campaign by Internet users that calls on companies to remove their ads from three conservative newspapers, the Chosun Ilbo, the JoongAng Ilbo and the DongA Ilbo. In a Cabinet meeting on June 24, the justice minister said, “We are regarding the newspaper ad pressure as an attack against advertisers and will reinforce our investigation.” However, regular rank-and-file prosecutors have started to fret about the investigation, saying, “We aren’t ready for the probe. If we were really ordered to do so, we would have to pretend to investigate.”

At the Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Kim showed signs of launching an imminent large-scale crackdown, saying, “I have a lot of cases in which companies were pressured into not placing ads (in the three newspapers).” The minister appears to be more resolute than when he ordered the prosecution to take special steps to crack down the campaign for the first time on June 20.

In line with the minister’s wishes, the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office formed a new team of investigators, led by a senior prosecutor in charge of Internet crimes, to probe into allegations of “ad threats.” Kim Soo-nam, a senior prosecutor at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, said, “With the police under our command, we will actively crack down on cases of malicious and repetitive defamation and threats that obstruct business.”

However, the justice minister’s actions got difference responses from prosecutors assigned to the investigation, as well as other prosecutors, due to controversy over the existence of “political prosecutors.” Privately, they complain they have no option but to investigate or there is no consistency in how investigations are chosen. Some expect the prosecution to repeat the mistakes it made when it launched a recent investigation into people alleged to have spread rumors about mad cow disease.

On June 23, the prosecution held a meeting with police, the Korea Communication Commission and other related agencies, but declined to give details of the meeting, saying, “We won’t publicize technical and working-level content.”

An official of the prosecution said, “The meeting was held because the minister ordered a special crackdown. It’s proper that we follow existing procedure, and there is nothing to make this case exceptional.” Since the prosecution’s investigation is being organized hastily, neither the extent of the investigation nor the legal grounds for investigation could be confirmed. Instead, the prosecution reiterated that it would conduct its investigation on a “case by case” basis.

Another official of the prosecution said, “It’s impossible for prosecutors to investigate Internet portal sites, at which many netizens have posted articles. This is a case in which we need to prove whether there have been any instances of identify theft,” the official said.

The prosecution’s role in the investigation will be limited, and will largely involve setting standards for how the investigation is carried out, for example when the police report to the prosecution.

Prosecutors are also concerned because the Central Prosecutors’ Office, which had originally said it would not conduct a investigation without a formal complaint being filed, hastily announced that it would launch an investigation after the justice minister made his remarks.

A third official of the prosecution said, “As with the inconsistent reports published by ChoJoongDong about mad cow disease, the prosecution’s inconsistent attitude about the investigation may be worthy of criticism.” ChoJoongDong is an acronym that refers to the three conservative newspapers, the Chosun Ilbo, the JoongAng Ilbo and the DongA Ilbo.

Some prosecutors are unhappy because people are viewing the prosecution and its war as a proxy for the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and the three conservative dailies.

One prosecutor attributed the problems with the investigation to “the (justice) minister’s overcharged will.” He continued by saying, “I don’t know why he gave a special order” to launch the investigation. “Some prosecutors may be feeling a sense of desperation about the investigation.”

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