Politicized, Selective Accusers

Prosecutors' Only Duty Should Be to Seek Justice

Former President Roh Moo-hyun's tragic end has turned the tables in his bribery investigation to put prosecutors on the defensive.

Not just the late leader's supporters but many nonpartisan experts share the views that the prosecution's probes into the former head of state had problems in both their motivation and methods. Some even say the $6.4 million his family members allegedly received from Roh's supporter Park Yeon-cha could be within a ``tolerable range" in view of their long relationship.

We don't exactly think so. There should be no exception in the enforcement of law regardless of the positions of the suspects or the amount of money involved. The prosecutors responsible for this case, however, can ill-afford to wield this principle to justify their behavior.

First of all, their launch of this investigation was so timed with Roh's harsh criticism of his successor's policy as to regard it as a mere coincidence. This may not even be the prosecution's fault as far as this particular case is concerned, because the highest law enforcement agency has long been ridiculed as the maid of those in power.

A bigger problem is that politicizing at the hands of the prosecution has inevitably led to discriminative law enforcement, by putting aside the relatives and friends of the incumbent President from the list of those to be interrogated as well as shielding its own members ― prosecutors who are alleged to have received money from Park ― as irrelevant in this case.

Even more glaring was their manners of dealing with the former President, by treating him as little more than an ordinary offender or even less than that. A former high-level prosecutor aptly said, ``Some prosecutors had their hands tainted too much with the blood of the 'dead power' in their zeal to win the favor of the 'live power.'"

Most outrageous was the incessant leaks of information to the press, which should be an illegal overreach in the exercise of the prosecutors' discretion. In the process, the human rights of the suspects are destroyed beyond reparation. This, coupled with the unbearably high-handed handling of suspects and character assassination, has led a number of public figures, including bureaucrats and businesspersons, to commit suicide, with some doing so right after they left the public prosecutor's office.

Ironically enough, it was the late Roh who freed the prosecution from the presidential leash, allowing it to enjoy power and authority unchecked by anyone. President Lee Myung-bak put these law enforcement agencies, which also include the tax office and top intelligence agency, back under his own control. So one of the first things Lee should do is to come up with means to institutionally ― not personally ― control the prosecutorial power.

We know there are prosecutors, young and pure-minded, believing that state attorneys' only duty is to seek justice. It is also true, however, that cynics have long said ``justice is a trophy of the victor." The only way to prove otherwise is to investigate the ``live power" until the public nod their approval.

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