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By Sohn Won-je

The Office of the Prime Minister announced Monday the results of its own investigation into allegations that its public ethics office conducted illegal investigations into a civilian. The investigation results, however, were limiting to confirming that four staff members, including public ethics officer Lee In-kyu, had violated duty regulations under the National Civil Service Law. The investigation determined that key illegalities such as criminal abuse of authority, extortion and interfering with business took place. The investigation that uncovered the background to the allegations will now be handed to the prosecutors.

Cho Won-dong, deputy secretary-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the five-person investigation team that investigated Lee, the head of the inspection team and two investigators, found that there were grounds to believe they violated their duty to carry out their duties faithfully and in a dignified manner under the National Civil Service Law.

Cho also said during the course of the investigation, allegations were leveled in regards to illegal acts such as criminal misuse of authority, coercion and interference in business. He said the office would ask prosecutors to investigate the four individuals involved.

The Office of the Prime Minister decided to refer three of the four staff members, with the exception of a former police officer who did not participate in the investigation of the civilian, to a disciplinary committee. The three have also been stripped of their positions.

The Office of the Prime Minister said the investigation found that the public ethics office launched the investigation against Kim Jong-ik, a non-government employee, after receiving a tip on Sept. 10, 2008 that someone working for a public institution was slandering President Lee. When the tip came in, it was not properly determined whether Kim was eligible to be investigated. The fact that a non-government employee was investigated as a result was a clear violation of duty regulations.

The Office of the Prime Minister said, however, that there has been disagreement over whether the public ethics office request to the Dongjak Police Station to investigation Kim after it confirmed he was a civilian violated duty regulations. It also said determining whether the tip that Kim worked for a public institution came from another body or whether it was connected to the Yeongpo Society, a rumored group of officials hailing from the Yeongil-Pohang region, also President Lee’s hometown, was not included in the scope of the investigation.

This investigation has been criticized as woefully insufficient to address such serious allegations, threatening the foundation of democracy since it indicates the absence of a will to uncover the nature and background of the matter.

In response, the Office of the Prime Minister said there was a clear limit to their investigation, as they could only investigate based on testimony from the public ethics office because they lack the authority to investigate outside individuals. Considering, however, that it took a full 11 days from the time the allegations were raised in the National Assembly for the Office of the Prime Minister to launch its own investigation into the matter, there are many who doubt whether the office had a clear intention to investigate from the start. The question has been raised as to whether they merely bought time for Lee and the others to get their stories straight and to erase connections to those in the background of the case.

The ball has now been passed to the prosecutors. Within and outside the prosecution, people believe the targets and course of the investigation greatly depend on how prosecutors approach the case and with what type of intention. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors did not hand the case to the existing criminal division or special crimes division, but rather created a special investigation team that began its investigation Monday.

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