[Editorial]Conspiracy Theory Claimed with Slush Fund Scandal Involving Kwon

It is unfortunate for the ruling party that another conspiracy theory is being raised at a time when the prosecution is investigating its former senior advisor Kwon Roh-kap, who is suspected of taking bribes from the Hyundai group.

After confirming that he received a large amount of money from the conglomerate during the 2000 general elections, the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for Kwon on bribery charges. It is inappropriate behavior for the ruling camp to raise the possibility of a conspiracy theory surrounding the scandal because its action constitutes improper interference in the prosecution`s investigation into a very sensitive case and could undermine its political neutrality.

In addition, the conspiracy theory that the ruling party is now raising is illogical. They claim that some reform-minded lawmakers have attempted to remove Kwon, who is an influential figure among the party`s old guards, from the party to boost their drive to form a new party.

Their claim merits no attention at all.

It is reform-minded lawmakers who will be in hot water when Kwon confesses to whom he provided the money he received from Hyundai, given that an overriding view is that they are composed mostly of what is referred to as the “386-generation” lawmakers. It is these same lawmakers that seemed to rely more on Kwon to finance the general elections than the old guards, who were capable of raising election funds on their own.

It is also difficult to reach a conclusion whether the prosecution launched this investigation into the scandal involving Kwon with political motives, considering the prosecution`s announcement that it began the investigation only after it found documents on secret money transfers to North Korea handed over to them from the special council involving Kwon. This means that documents from the special counsel`s probe led the prosecution to investigate Kwon.

Since the inauguration of the “participatory government,” whenever headline-making scandals involving heavyweight politicians emerge, such as the “Good Morning City scandal or the presidential aide`s lavish treatment case, politicians claim they are victims of a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory misleads the public by covering up the truth and is a combination of a social environment where people mistrust each other and cowardly behavior in order to avoid harsh punishment for incorrect actions.

Getting to the bottom of the bribery case involving Kwon is not a matter of determining who did wrong and who didn`t. The investigation should be used as an opportunity to lay the foundation for political reform in Korea by eradicating an undesirable political environment where politicians and businessmen have cozy relations. Considering the significance of the investigation, the political circle should not block the prosecution from carrying out a fair and transparent investigation. For the prosecution, it should uncover all the truths behind the scandal, ignoring the conspiracy theory raised by some irresponsible and single-minded politicians.