[Editorial] Chief Secretary Lee Should Resign and Be Investigated

It is not proper for Lee Ki-Ho, senior presidential secretary of the economy, who was found out to have intervened in the treasure excavation project of Lee Hyung-Taek, President Kim`s nephew-in-law, to refuse to resign. Chief Secretary Lee says that he will obey the summons to the Special Prosecutors Office, but will not resign because there is no `juridical suspicion`. But juridical suspicion is not a matter for him to decide but for the Special Prosecutors to prove.

Secretary Lee introduced Mr. Lee to Eom Ik-Joon, then number 2 deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), at the request of Lee Hyung-Taek in December 1999. He explains that his involvement went nowhere beyond ascertaining whether the information on the treasure was credible or not, but there is the question of whether he would have exceeded his authority if it had not been for the President`s nephew-in-law`s request. Moreover, the fact that he did not report the matter related with the President`s nephew-in-law through official channels to the Head of the Secretariat Office to the President was an act of negligence.

Lee Hyung-Taek had a contract on the treasure excavation project along with treasure excavators with SamaeIndus, affiliate company of Lee Yong-Ho`s, in February 2001, and Lee Yong-Ho made a trade profit amounting 15.4 billion won when SamaeIndus stock prices soared at the time. The main question in the `Lee Yong-Ho Gate` is "where has the money disappeared?"

Secretary Lee insists that he is not concerned about the case as he does not know about what happened after December 1999, but is this true? The senior presidential secretary of the economy cannot have overlooked the fact that SamaeIndus` stock prices soared due to rumors about the treasure excavation. He should have taken proper measures and investigated the sign of manipulation as the Chief Presidential Secretary of the Economy.

If he did not notice it, he was incompetent, and if he ignored it for the sake of the President`s nephew-in-law, he was deceptive. There is `suspicion` enough for the senior secretary to resign. It is ridiculous to speak of `juridical suspicion`. The Cabinet reshuffling by the beginning of next week should not cover up the matter regarding Secretary Lee. Reshuffling the Cabinet is one thing, and the resignation of Chief Secretary Lee is quite another.