hankyoreh

the prosecutor in charge of investigating Munhwa Broadcasting Company’s “The Producer’s Notebook” (pidi sucheop)

Lim Su-bin, 47, the senior prosecutor in charge of the Criminal investigation Unit 2 of Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office tendered his resignation amid friction with the prosecution leadership over his investigation into an investigative report about mad cow disease that appeared via Munhwa Broadcasting Company’s current affairs TV program “The Producer’s Notebook” (pidi sucheop), it was confirmed Sunday. Lim was unable to build a case for defamation against the MBC producers, as was claimed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, though it was acknowledged that some of the facts presented in the program had been distorted.

“I will tender my resignation by January 15, which is the deadline for voluntary retirement,” Lim said. Asked why he decided to resign so abruptly, Lim replied, “My resignation is just aimed at making a living.”

However, Lim did not deny that there has been friction between himself and his superiors over the “Producer’s Notebook” investigation. The judgment (that no charge of defamation can be applied) to the producers of ‘The Producer’s Notebook’ is correct,” Lim said.

Lim indicated that the prosecution leadership’s call for him to deal sternly with the case affected his decision to resign, saying that it was an issue of “How much can prosecutorial power infringe upon the media freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution?”

A senior prosecution official also acknowledged that there was friction between Lim and the prosecution leadership over how to proceed with the investigation and how to conclude it, saying, “Lim has differed (with his superiors) on how legal principles should be applied” to the case.

It is believed that, with his resignation, Lim is resisting a call from his superiors to indict the MBC producers. “I can’t indict (the MBC producers) because the investigative report focused on criticism of the government and the grounds for a defamation charge were weak,” Lim was quoted as saying.

Another senior prosecution official said, “This is a situation in which he had no choice but to resign because top-level prosecutors were having difficulty pursuing the case because of him.”

In June, amid candlelight demonstrations against the resumption of U.S. beef imports, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries asked the prosecution to look into whether “The Producer’s Notebook” had defamed the agriculture minister and government negotiators with its April report on mad cow disease and U.S. beef by attempting to link the two with information it said was false.

After a special investigative team led by Lim was formed, an in-depth investigation began. In an interim report on the investigation released in late July, prosecutors hinted that the MBC producers could be indicted on charges of defamation, but the investigation has not yet been concluded because the MBC producers refused to appear for questioning and there are differences of opinion within the prosecution itself.

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