The prosecution has launched a task force to collect unpaid fines from former President Chun Doo-hwan. The team will consist of a prosecutor and seven investigators and will be supported by high-tech criminal investigators of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
The task force came after Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook called for special measures to collect fines from Chun and other defaulters with large outstanding fines. The prosecution’s renewed determination to track Chun’s hidden assets is a welcome move.
Chun, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist from 1980 to early 1988 after seizing power in a 1979 military coup amid political chaos, was ordered in 1997 to pay 220.5 billion won in fines for creating slush funds while in office. Of that amount, the government has yet to collect 167.2 billion won from the general-turned-dictator.
We feel a sense of urgency because the statute of limitations in Chun’s case will expire in October. If the task force uncovers even a little of his hidden assets by then, the deadline can be extended.
The former chief executive has infuriated the public by having a lavish lifestyle while insisting that he only has a total of 270,000 won in personal assets. He went abroad several times on golfing trips with his entourage and one of his granddaughters had a lavish wedding at a top-class hotel. Suspicions that Chun concealed his ill-gotten fortune under the names of his children make sense, given that they not only operate businesses but also own luxurious houses and buildings.
In paying the fines, Chun is starkly contrasted with Roh Tae-woo, Chun’s successor as president who was convicted on similar charges. Roh, who is ailing with prostate cancer, has been paying off his fines for years, and is now left with only 23.1 billion won in unpaid fines out of 262.9 billion won.
The prosecution’s plan to step up fresh efforts to find Chun’s hidden fortune is laudable, but it should not repeat its blunders this time. According to press reports, the prosecution discovered some of Chun’s hidden assets in 2004 but missed the opportunity unaccountably. Prosecutors came to know that Chun’s second son owned bonds worth 73.5 billion won he apparently inherited from the former president, but they didn’t file a lawsuit to seize the money.
No action against Chun raises doubt about justice in our society, given that ordinary people have their assets seized by defaulting on even small loans. Law enforcement must do what it can to show that social justice is still alive.