Prosecutors announce investigation results of Roh without apology

Posted on : 2009-06-13 10:57 KST Modified on : 2009-06-13 10:57 KST
Despite many calling it a “failed investigation,” they insist that there were “no problems whatsoever”
 the head of the Central Investigation Department in the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office
the head of the Central Investigation Department in the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office

On Friday, the Central Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (SPO) announced the results of its investigation into the Park Yeon-cha illegal lobbying incident. This marks the end of an investigation of Park, former chairman Taekwang Industrial chairman, and the bribery allegations surrounding him that began with a tax audit of Taekwang Industrial last July. Despite many within the SPO calling it a “failed investigation that only succeeded in breeding public criticism and raising the need for prosecutorial reform,” the office insisted that there were “no problems whatsoever” with the investigation of former President Roh Moo-hyun.

The announcement of the investigation results smacked of an explanation of the office’s position in response to the outpouring of criticism against the SPO that has followed Roh’s death. The prosecutors even dedicated a considerable portion of their announcement to providing clarification on the Roh investigation and the attendant controversy. However, it was difficult to find even a partial acknowledgement of responsibility for Roh’s death anywhere in the prosecutors’ announcement. Most of the announcement instead emphasized that there were no problems in the investigation’s background, process or methods. Also conspicuous were expressions that seemed to either hint at the prosecutors’ confidence in the evidence supporting the charges against Roh or to pin the responsibility on the press.

The statement outlines that prosecutors had decided to not seek sought arraignment as they had decided not to disclose specific evidence due “serious concerns that the explanation of evidence might reveal information about the witnesses’ personal lives or damage their reputations.” At the same time, the prosecutors did include a sentence that indicates, “However, the historical facts of this incident will be preserved in the investigation records.”

The prosecutors also said, “Since the bribe giver cannot receive a normal trial if the recipient (former President Roh Moo-hyun) is not prosecuted, the case of bribery against former chairman Park Yeon-cha was concluded as a confidential investigation.” However, they also stated, “The charges are acknowledged based on various evidence, including former chairman Park’s confession, supporting accounts from individuals involved, and details of monetary transmissions.” Observers are viewing this as a roundabout way for the prosecutors to disclose that their position believing Park gave Roh bribe money has not changed.

The prosecutors also refuted various criticisms of their investigation presented since Roh’s death, saying that there were “no problems.” In response to charges that the investigation was conducted as a dragnet-style probe of Roh and his family, prosecutors stressed that they conducted the investigation as they did because “evidence came to light that was directly related to the receipt of money and goods by former President Roh’s family.” They went on to explain that the investigation “was limited to only the necessary areas, and the number of questionings for the son, Roh Gun-ho, and the son-in-law, Yeon Chul-ho, increased because of claims or repeated accounts that conflicted with objective evidence.”

With regard to comments about the delay in the decision on whether to hold or release Roh, the prosecutors answered that “supplementary investigation of the existing charges was necessary, and new charges about the receipt of 400,000 U.S. dollars came to light.” They also emphasized that “The decision came after finishing a thorough investigation of the information available and conforms to investigation principles.” They added, “When former President Roh was questioned, he said he would provide the requested material on the use of the money, and he requested confirmation of Cheong Wa Dae phone records, so there was a need to verify this.”

As for charges that the investigation was a targeted or retaliatory investigation of figures in the Roh administration, prosecutors said that the investigation “followed charges by the National Tax Service and was limited only to areas related for former Chairman Park Yeon-cha.”

Finally, with regard to complaints about the disclosure of charges through investigation briefings, prosecutors responded that these claims contradicted the facts. “We provided minimal comments to the press in order to guarantee the people’s right to know and to prevent speculative reporting,” the prosecutors stated. “Because of the large number of people involved in this investigation, a considerable number of instances were responses to requests for confirmation from journalists who had already obtained information,” they added.

The prosecutors also said, “Several examples presented as damaging to former President Roh’s reputation were not things that we presented in briefings or confirmed,” displacing responsibility on the media for reports about expensive watches being given as presents, 60th birthday gifts costing 30,000 US dollars, and watches being “discarded in a rice field.”

However, there was no indication of an effort to investigate or explain the leaking of statements from core suspects that were accessible only to the investigation team.

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

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