Prosecutors Stuck in Quagmire

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun confirmed yesterday that he would not veto the Independent Counsel Act passed by the National Assembly to investigate the Samsung slush fund scandal. The decision, however, has put the prosecution in an awkward position.

When Roh signs the bill into law, it will take effect immediately. Thus, it will take up to 15 days to appoint an independent counsel. Then the newly appointed special prosecutor has 20 days to organize his or her staff. Roh will probably sign the act at the December 3 cabinet meeting. Accordingly, it will take up to 40 days from now for the counsel to launch the investigation.

When the special counsel takes office early next year, the DA’s office can no longer pursue its ongoing investigation. Therefore, the taskforce organized by the prosecution will live a short, limited life.

Roh said, explaining his decision, “Should I veto it, the DA’s office has to continue its investigation until the legislative body overrides it. And then the office of the independent counsel will launch its own probe. It’s confusing and waste of resources,” confirming the limited authority and scope of the current DA investigation.

In other words, Roh has just said “no” to overlapping investigations by two different bodies. Practically, it’s hard for the prosecution to pursue such a probe against the president’s will.

A prosecutor close to the investigation complained after Roh’s decision, “We planned to continue our investigation until the independent counsel resumed office. Frankly, we expected the president to veto the bill. We have to think about the whole thing again.”

The prosecution confirmed yesterday that it has been looking into the banking transactions of four Samsung accounts, which whistleblower Kim Yong-cheol, former Samsung in-house legal division chief, alleges were used for slush fund purposes.

If the allegation proves reliable, the prosecution plans to widen the probe’s scope and look into more accounts.

Senior prosecutor Kim Su-nam on the taskforce said, “We will first check the accounts alleged by Kim.”

Kim Yong-cheol also alleged at a press conference the previous day that Samsung has stashed away a huge slush fund and employed illegal accounting practices. Kim further contended that Samsung owners have hidden their assets under other names. Thus, the DA’s office is considering whether to incorporate the allegations in their investigation.

The former Samsung attorney has made gigantic and numerous allegations. Thus, the prosecution plans to tackle the allegations that need to be verified with hard evidence and thus need swift actions by the prosecution.

The DA’s office is also contacting Kim to question him as material witness. The DA’s office wishes to talk with him early this week.

In the meanwhile, Kim Yong-cheol’s defense team visited the DA’s office yesterday morning to express their hopes for a fair investigation.

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