Did prosecutors give Choi Soon-sil chance for coordination in testimonies?

The prosecution gave one or two days to President Park Geun-hye’s shadowy confidante Choi Soon-sil who unexpectedly returned to Korea via the U.K., rather than summoning her directly at the airport, thus earning criticism that they gave Choi a time to coordinate testimonies. A prosecution source said, “When a person to be investigated returns from overseas, we generally give him or her to take rest for one or two days,” adding, “Since we know her whereabouts in Korea, there is no need to worry.” However, we wonder if prosecutors handle her in a usual way, given her scandal that sent political shockwave across the entire nation by manipulating state affairs.

“Ms. Choi is the target of massive criticism by the entire public,” Lee Kyung-jae, Choi’s attorney, told reporters on Sunday. “No one knows what kind of mishap can happen.” The prosecution should have summoned Choi immediately to prevent her from possibly injuring herself, or people from attacking her as well.

Choi had declined her return to Korea during an interview with the Segye Times in Europe on Thursday, but changed her mind to return home early for some unknown reason Saturday. Cha Eun-taek, dubbed "prince in the cultural community" who had gone hiding in China, also expressed his intention to return to Korea and cooperate with prosecutorial probe soon. Naturally, people have suspicions that those involved in the scandal have changed the direction of their plans and chosen to undergo investigation all of sudden, and seek to coordinate their testimonies according to a certain guideline.

The presidential office on Saturday rejected the prosecution’s search-and-seizure raid, including offices of Ahn Jong-beom, senior presidential secretary for policy coordination, and Chung Ho-song, secretary for the first secretarial office. "Cheong Wa Dae is the facility subject to state security and a search-and-seizure raid requires the president's approval," the presidential office said. "There has been no precedent, and voluntary submission of materials is an established practice." As the prosecution strongly pressured the presidential office on the backing of public opinion, the presidential office provided a fairly large amount of materials on Sunday. Woo Byung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs who resigned Sunday, was in charge Cheong Wa Dae's response to prosecutorial raid and search. There is a chance that Woo must have supervised all the preparations for prosecutorial investigation of people involved in the Choi Soon-sil scandal. Choi Jae-gyeong, newly-appointed presidential secretary for civil affairs, should now remove Woo’s shadowy influence on the Choi Soon-sil scandal, and the case of suspicious property sale by Woo’s family-in-law.

In her apology to the public on Tuesday last week, President Park sought to make an excuse by saying, “I sought Choi’s opinions for a certain period of time after my inauguration, but stopped doing it after the system for secretarial assistance at the presidential office was completed.” Park’s explanations could serve as a guideline, which can help those involved the scandal coordinate their testimonies. Over the weekend, the Culture, Tourism and Sports Ministry began denying media reports that Choi and others had freely manipulated budget for cultural promotion projects. The ministry’s response could also be seen as a move aimed at reducing the level of Choi’s manipulation of state affairs.

The investigation into the scandal will inevitably be conducted through an independent council in line with an agreement by the ruling and opposition parties. The results of prosecutorial investigation will thus be verified and assessed by the independent council later. Prosecutors should conduct their investigation as if they are taking a test.

송평인기자 pisong@donga.com