[Editorial] Special Investigation into Samsung Scandal Should Proceed Carefully

The special counsel bill designed to allow an investigation into the Samsung slush fund scandal was approved in the National Assembly yesterday. Following Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-jin’s opinion that if cases currently being investigated or closed are included in the list of the special investigation, it would breach constitutional principles with regard to the investigation’s excessiveness and violations of equality, some clauses of the bill were renegotiated. Yet the bill still contains the seeds of controversy. With the possibility of President Roh exercising his veto, whether and when the special investigation will start is still up in the air.

The business community is concerned about the possible side effects of the special counsel investigation on the Korean economy and Korean business credit ratings given Samsung’s symbolic importance in the Korean economy.

The special counsel for the Samsung scandal is massive in scale compared to the six investigations conducted in the past. According to the bill, after the special law concerning the investigation is made public and special counsel is selected over a period of 30 days, the special investigation would possibly last for four months (125 days), including a preparation period. This would put pressure on the Korean economy already in difficult straits because of high oil prices and the the sudden changes in the exchange rates.

To avoid the accusation that the cases to be investigated are already on trial, the political sector has focused on irregularities in the investigations into Samsung’s succession case. Yet this narrowing of investigation limits has not eased all of the relevant controversy. The investigation into Samsung’s slush fund raising and its lobbying activities since 1997 could halt the normal business activity of the conglomerate. It is necessary to listen to the public opinion that no company could survive such a thorough investigation.

At the request of the Grand National Party, suspicions over the 2002 presidential election fund and the Samsung bribery scandal have been included in the special counsel bill, which are likely to be investigated after Roh’s retirement from office. This is politically explosive and could make it difficult for Roh to exercise his veto. Given the nature of the case, it is proper to have a special investigation after Roh’s presidency ends and statute of limitations resumes.

If a surgeon carries out an operation on body too expeditiously, he or she could kill the patient. The special counsel bill, if enacted, should be used wisely to ultimately help improve the economy. It must not be used to kill Samsung, which is what some leftists want.