[Editorial] An opportunity for prosecutors to prove their honor

The prosecutors are speeding their investigations into the suspected exercise of external pressures over the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KCGF) for an unlawful loan surety, the controversy over which forced Minister Park Jie-Won in the end to resign from his office.

The prosecutors have taken ex-KCGF Yeongdong branch manager Lee Un-Young into custody for accepting bribes, which violates the Additional Punishment Laws on Specific Economic Crimes. The prosecutors started investigating the key issue of this case, which relates to Lee's claim that he was under external pressures for the loan guarantee.

Lee also claimed that the Sajik-dong presidential police task force (The National Police Bureau's special investigation squad) interrogated him in retaliation for his rejection of the loan guarantee.

The prosecutors summoned those policemen who were allegedly involved in Lee's case. This seems to demonstrate the prosecutors' firm determination for rigorous and thorough investigation into this controversial case. It also reflects a right order of investigation that the prosecutors decided to summon ex-Minister Park, and the KCGF's present and former executives involved in the loan pressure for cross examinations with Lee.

As the prosecution office pointed out, the difficulty of investigating this case is that there are only conflicting statements from involved individuals with no secure evidence to prove the authenticity of their contradictory claims. Therefore, the prosecutors must investigate without any exceptions all those individuals with the slightest indications of their involvement in the case. Only such an exhaustive probe and the transparent release of its findings will enable the prosecutors to win the people's confidence.

The key here is the full disclosure of the prosecutors' investigative findings over the Sajik-dong police squad's alleged interrogation of Lee. Although one of team supervisors of the KCGF's Yeongdong branch stated at the prosecution office that he reported Lee's wrongdoing to the squad, this can hardly be a convincing reason that fully explains the circumstances of the Sajik-dong police's investigations of Lee, as the Sajik-dong police is the Presidential police task force that exclusively investigates cases Chong Wa Dae refers it to. They usually involve only the investigations of high-ranking officials or business conglomerates. Moreover, the KCGF supervisor is known to be a high school associate of Park Hae-Ryong, a medium enterprise owner, who requested KCGF manager Lee to arrange the loan guarantee. This seriously discredits the verity of the supervisor's report to the Sajik-dong police about Lee's offenses.

In our view, the key to the presidential police squad's probe of Lee has something to do with ex-Minister Park as well as present or former KCGF executives' exercise of influence over Lee for the unlawful loan guarantee. Accordingly, the prosecutors must concentrate their investigations on this aspect of loan pressures as to disclose all the suspicions.

At the same time, the prosecutors must probe Lee's so-called wirepullers or background forces which are widely rumored to include some ``ex-KCIA'' members as well as the opposition party. Such investigations into Lee's maneuvering forces, if any, are called for to prevent the abuse of the case for partisan interests as to obscure the nature of the probe. By the same token, it is important that any wrongs or corruptions in Lee's business conduct must also thoroughly be investigated. Equally important is the fact that Lee's wrongful conduct, even if discovered, should not prejudice the prosecutors' investigations as to unduly favor those individuals involved in unlawful exercise of loan pressures.

Whether or not the prosecutors can recover people's confidence will entirely depend on them. They must also know that only their fair investigation can free them from the pressures of the political quarters for the adoption of a special prosecutor.