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| Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk attends a hearing at the national assembly in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Bahk Eun-ji
The ruling bloc and the prosecution have collided head-on over the latter's investigation into various corruption allegations surrounding justice minister nominee Cho Kuk. Cheong Wa Dae, Cabinet members and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticize the probe as being a "political act" to impede the government's plan to reform the prosecution, while prosecutors slam such reactions for "interfering with an investigation" and "damaging the independence" of the organization.
The clash is only getting more severe with bellicose comments being exchanged, and is unlikely to be relieved if President Moon Jae-in pushes ahead with Cho's appointment despite the allegations and the ongoing investigation.
A Cheong Wa Dae official expressed strong complaints about the prosecution's investigation, including searches conducted at dozens of places involved in the allegations before Cho's confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.
"Searching 20 to 30 locations, under the pretext of investigating Cho's allegations, is the sort of method used in investigations into a rebellion conspiracy or a massive crackdown on a nationwide gang," the official was quoted as saying in local media, Friday.
He said prosecutors are investigating intensively in order to prevent Cho from becoming justice minister and therefore stop him from fulfilling the President's pledge to curb the powers of the prosecution.
"We can tell whether it is an ordinary investigation or being conducted for the prosecution to protect its organization," the official said. "It is aimed at preventing the judiciary reform that is planned to reduce the absolute power of the prosecution."
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also called the ongoing investigation "inappropriate," as the prosecution's large-scale searches affected the Assembly's confirmation hearing.
"The prosecution needs to tell only the truth," Lee said in a National Assembly session on Thursday. "If prosecutors act with political intentions, it is beyond their domain."
Justice Minister Park Sang-ki also expressed discomfort over the prosecution not reporting its search plan to him in advance, saying the law states the justice minister can command the prosecutor general.
"For socially important cases, it is logical that the prosecution should make prior reports and the minister supervises the investigation," Park said in the same Assembly session.
DPK floor leader Lee In-young also denounced the prosecution for "leaking" its findings to the media to corner Cho, saying it is "clearly bad political behavior."
The prosecution openly protested such reactions from the ruling bloc, a rare move.
The protest came Thursday evening after a Cheong Wa Dae official commented on the alleged fabrication of a certificate for Cho's daughter's volunteer activity at an English education center of Dongyang University. Cho's wife is a professor at the university, and the school president told media that he did not remember issuing any such award for Cho's daughter.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the certification was given to Cho's daughter properly, adding they found a professor who recommended the certificate and the related allegations would be cleared in the confirmation hearing the next day.
Immediately after the comment, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office called for Cheong Wa Dae to stop intervening in its investigation.
The prosecutor's office issued a statement attributed to an anonymous high-ranking prosecutor, who called the comment from the Cheong Wa Dae official "very inappropriate and can be seen as an intervention in the prosecution's investigation and giving a guideline on it."
The prosecution did not specify who authored the statement, but did not say no when asked if it was Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl.
It also refuted Minister Park's remark, saying a search requires confidentiality so it is not reported to the ministry in principle.
The presidential office then immediately disputed the prosecution's claim, saying it has not interfered with the investigation.
