Cabinet Endorses Bill to Investigate President-Elect

The cabinet approved a bill authorizing the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate allegations that President-elect Lee Myung-bak was involved in the stock price manipulation of the asset management company BBK.

Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told reporters that the approval of the bill was made on Wednesday in a cabinet meeting chaired by President Roh Moo-hyun. The bill is titled, “An Act to Find the Truth about Alleged Criminal Charges, Including Stock Price Manipulation, on Grand National Party Presidential Candidate Lee Myung-bak.”

President Roh said in the cabinet meeting, "Above all, the people`s suspicions should be dispelled. Suspicions have grown dramatically as the prosecution’s investigation report contradicts with Lee’s remarks in the BBK-related video, which was disclosed right before the presidential election. In order for both the accused and the prosecution to restore trust, the raised suspicions should also be dispelled.”

"The bill was ratified by the majority of legislators, and Lee himself agreed to accept the bill. Although I kept watching the possibility of discussing the matter in the National Assembly, it was very difficult for me to ask them to discuss it again when no new agreement had been reached. There are insufficient grounds to veto the bill as there are other precedents set by special counsel bills, controversies, and different opinions on the issue,” Roh added.

In this regard, Justice Minister Chung Soung-jin told reporters that although the bill is contentious in a number of legal aspects, the most desirable way is to leave the final decision on the veto up to the president because the bill had originated from public suspicion.

The bill to introduce an independent prosecutor will take effect as early as Friday upon the endorsement of the Cabinet minister and the approval of President Roh.

President Roh will select and appoint a special prosecutor from two nominees recommended by Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Yong-hun. After a seven-day preparation period, the special prosecutor will have to decide whether to charge President-elect Lee within 40 days at the most. The independent inquiry is slated to begin in mid-January and will be completed before Lee`s inauguration on February 25.

The bill calls for the special prosecution to investigate the four allegations involving Lee: manipulation of BBK’s stock price and the violation of securities trading law; embezzlement and dereliction of duty; violation of the Public Service Ethics Act and Public Office Election Law by failing to report some 93 billion won of his assets, including alleged land holdings in Dogok-dong and 96 percent of the auto parts company DAS’s shares; and Granting privileges for the construction of the Sangam Digital Media Center in 2002 when he served as Seoul mayor.

Politicians showed mixed responses on the Cabinet’s approval of the special prosecution bill. The GNP claimed that nothing more will be found in the process of the independent counsel’s investigation, and that the United New Democratic Party will face a backlash, while the UNDP said that politicians must not add pressure on the special counsel, who will be obliged to disclose the truth about the BBK case.

In the meantime, the Cabinet meeting also approved the “Bill Regarding the Development of Eastern, Western and Southern Coastal Areas.” Although the bill was disputed due to difficulties in implementing proposed projects, it could be endorsed by the cabinet as the National Assembly`s Construction and Transportation Committee agreed to quickly revise the bill in a more economically friendly manner.

jin0619@donga.com