hankyoreh

July 2.

By Song Chae-gyeong-hwa

Prime Minister’s Office public ethics officer Lee In-kyu, who is at the heart of controversy due to suspicions he engaged in illegal surveillance of civilians, told a Hankyoreh reporter Friday that he did not know his target, Kim Jong-ik, was a civilian. Lee, whom the reporter met in front of his house in Seoul’s Ilwon neighborhood at around 3 p.m., was clearly tired, perhaps because he had just been questioned by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Prime Minister’s Office had formed an investigation team, led by Secretary Shin Yeong-gi, to look into the illegal surveillance suspicions, and called in Lee for questioning.

Lee said when he investigated Kim at the Prime Minister’s Office, he did not know he was a civilian. He said because he judged him to be a civilian after the questioning, he turned the case over to the police. When asked how the investigation of Kim started, he said he began investigating when a tip came into the Prime Minister’s Office. He denied further suspicions, saying there was no order from above.

Asked if there were other civilians under investigation at the Prime Minister’s Office, Lee said the office does not investigate civilians. However, as for the investigation into Kim, a civilian, Lee said they did not know at first whether he was a civilian or not, and only if they investigated could they find out.

It is hard to believe Lee’s claim that they turned the case over to the police as soon as they confirmed Kim was a civilian, however. The Prime Minister’s Office learned Kim was the head of private company “K” on Sept. 12, 2008, prior to turning over his records to Dongjak Police Station on Nov. 17, 2008. After learning what he did, the office met with the vice president of KB, the bank that had dealings with Kim’s business, to obtain accounting data on the company. After Kim was forced down as head of the company due to pressure from the investigation, the office obtained access to Kim’s emails through his successor at the company. The office conducted an intense, two-month investigation of Kim, even though they knew he was a civilian.

Meanwhile, the opposition and civic groups said despite the fact that an ugly incident that would have been difficult to witness even during the dictatorship period has transpired, the Lee Myung-bak administration has continued to feign ignorance and inspection agencies are simply trying to read the minds of their superiors.

The Prime Minister’s Office has been busy protecting Lee, the central figure in the allegations, since opposition lawmakers exposed the suspicions on June 21. The office has until recently delayed an investigation, concocting a story that Lee has been hospitalized due to high blood pressure. The office questioned Lee for the first time only on Friday, after attacks by the opposition grew stronger and public criticism grew louder.

Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) has also virtually turned over the investigation to the Prime Minister’s Office, changing their initial attitude that the Office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs would carry out the investigation.

The prosecutors have also adopted a passive attitude, saying it would be correct to investigate after official discipline measures have been taken. An official from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office said the case appears to be one of misuse of authority, but even if a complaint comes in, it’s not easy for the prosecutors to jump into first a matter that has already become a political point of contention.

An associate judge at Seoul Central District Court said the case starkly reveals the Lee administration’s poor understanding of law and ethics.

People’ Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said that since the administration and prosecutors have taken a passive attitude toward the case, they plan to file a direct complaint with the prosecutors on Monday.

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