For a fair probe of a pres. secretary

Kim Doo-woo, a key aide to President Lee Myung-bak, has stepped down as presidential secretary for public relations. Kim tendered his resignation after getting a summons from prosecutors for questioning on the allegation that he accepted bribes from Park Tae-gyu, a lobbyist with Busan Mutual Savings Bank Group. This is not the first time a president`s confidant has been embroiled in a corruption scandal involving a savings bank. Eun Jin-soo, a former member of the audit committee at the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Kim Hae-soo, first presidential secretary, have been indicted for graft. Yet a presidential secretary coming under criminal investigation is a matter is far more serious. A corruption scandal involving a savings bank has thus developed into an influence peddling "gate."

Kim admitted to being a close acquaintance of Park, going golfing together since the former served as a political desk editor at a media organization. Kim insisted on his innocence, however, saying "I`ve never lobbied or taken bribes related to Busan Mutual Savings Bank." If a presidential aide took valuable items while working at the presidential office, he should not be excused. After all, whether he was involved in the Busan Mutual Savings Bank scandal is a matter for prosecutors and the court to investigate and determine.

Since starting their investigation into the savings bank scandal in March, prosecutors have indicted about 60 political bigwigs over the past six months, but failed to detect corruption committed by them. For this reason, the president has criticized prosecutors. Busan Mutual Savings Bank had little presence in the secondary financial institution community before the Asian financial crisis in 1997, but saw robust growth under the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. For this reason, it cannot be ruled out that opposition party candidates and ranking officials from previous administrations were involved in the scandal. Some have raised suspicion that certain members of the main opposition Democratic Party could have attempted a cover-up and tried to protect those involved. Nevertheless, the criminal investigation has made no headway in finding out why the bank saw such fast growth. The summons of former presidential secretary Kim should be the starting point in the effort to detect illegal activities by Busan Mutual Savings Bank Group. A thorough investigation without limit is needed irrespective of affiliation with either the ruling and opposition parties.

Also drawing attention is the cases in which President Lee`s cousin and the latter`s two sons pocketed a huge sum of money in the name of investment in commercial projects. The cousin and his sons face a civil complaint, and this case could see the president`s relatives get caught for involvement in corruption. The legal complaint was filed on the ground that "One could earn a huge profit by investing in the four-river restoration project and construction, and took 300 million won (271,000 dollars) accordingly." The presidential secretary for civil affairs should cautiously reflect and check whether he was negligent in managing the president`s family and relatives in ordinary times, and whether the president himself stopped imposing a strict stance in managing his relatives and families.

Previous administrations induced lame duck status on their own through corruption involving the president`s aides and illegalities committed by their close friends and relatives. President Lee is urged to use extra caution even from now on and closely check those around him to prevent a large scandal.