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Justice minister hit for undermining neutrality of prosecution
The prosecution has decided not to seek an indictment in an alleged perjury case involving a witness who testified against former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook who was convicted of taking bribes. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) reported its decision to the Ministry of Justice, Sunday.
The decision was made during a 13-hour meeting held Friday participated in by senior prosecutors. Earlier last week, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye invoked his authority to order the SPO to re-examine allegations that prosecutors in 2011 pressured fellow inmates of Han Man-ho, a jailed businessman, to falsely testify that they heard the businessman say he gave the former prime minister 900 million won ($795,000). In their vote on whether to indict one of the inmates, 10 prosecutors voted not to indict.
Han, the country's first female prime minister, under President Roh Moo-hyun, was imprisoned in 2015 after being convicted of accepting illegal political funds while in office from the now deceased businessman. The businessman originally said he gave Han money, but he later retracted his testimony in court, arguing that he was forced to give false testimony under pressure from the prosecution. Allegations were raised last year that prosecutors had forced the businessman's fellow inmates to falsely testify against the former prime minister during her trial in 2011 to win her conviction. But the prosecution has dismissed the allegations twice, citing a lack of evidence supporting the perjury charges.
The SPO's latest decision not to indict has effectively ended the justice minister's attempts to save the former prime minister, who is viewed as a victim of prosecutorial bias by the country's progressives. Of course, the prosecution deserves blame for its unlawful and undue investigations in the past. But this doesn't mean the justice minister can execute his power at will. What's particularly lamentable is that the minister's command was prompted by suspicious revelations of an ex-convict. The minister should stop shaking the rule of law for partisan reasons and ensure the political neutrality of the prosecution.
