Is prosecution normalization a pipe dream?

When the prosecution falls below the sitting powers, the public cannot have faith in the president’s narrative of justice and common sense.

Lee Sang-eonThe author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo. The prosecutor general shall take charge of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, exercise control over prosecutorial affairs and direct and supervise public servants in the prosecution, dictates the Prosecutors’ Office Act. The provision places the prosecutor general at the final command of the prosecution’s investigations. No others — neither the president nor any ministers — can interfere in the top law enforcement agency’s probes. In an exceptional case, the justice minister can exercise the right to command the prosecution’s investigation. The right has been invoked five times throughout Korea’s modern history, four of which came under the last Moon Jae-in administration.

The law is often ignored in reality. In many cases, the prosecutor general is not in command. The prosecution was hardly an independent organization. Song Kwang-soo, a former prosecutor general, confessed that his boss — or then-president Roh Moo-hyun — had commanded the prosecutor general to uphold his governance philosophy because “my office falls below the president.” Roh, who had studied and practiced law to fight for human rights and democracy, also didn’t accept the top prosecutor as commander in government investigations.

Presidents had three ways to tame a defiant prosecutor general: appointments, pressures through connections and the justice minister’s right to command the prosecution’s investigations. They have used that power to appoint prosecutors to corner the prosecutor general, as well as his deputies and senior aides. The law guarantees the prosecutor general a two-year tenure, but many have failed to finish their terms after falling out of the president’s favor or lost their favorites through replacements. The threat of a reshuffle comes from the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, who was usually the prosecutor general’s senior in the prosecution.

As a former prosecutor general, Yoon suffered all three. He was openly pressured to resign, and those who followed him were demoted. His boss, Moon Jae-in, seated a former senior prosecutor as his secretary for civil affairs to tame a prosecution that had gone after then-Justice Minister Cho Kuk and other presidential aides during Yoon’s reign as prosecutor general. While Yoon remained staunchly defiant against orders from the justice minister, he was slapped with a two-month suspension from his job. The public disapproved of the severe beating on Yoon. Instead, they cheered the prosecutor general on for standing firmly against the injustice of the sitting powers. They found his valor honorable and rewarded him with the presidency.

“We will investigate in a speedy and solemn manner and act strictly based on the evidence and rule of law,” said current Prosecutor General Lee One-seok last week after launching an investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee for accepting a Dior purse from a mysterious pastor five months after her husband’s election. A week later, the justice ministry announced a sweeping reshuffle of senior prosecutors, replacing the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and all of his deputies in charge of investigations related to the first lady. Six of the prosecutor general’s eight key aides were replaced, too. Last week, President Yoon restored the post of the senior secretary of civil affairs and seated there a former prosecutor well versed in personnel affairs. The Justice Ministry issued a dull and unconvincing statement about the background behind the reshuffle. It said the new appointments had been made to “fill vacancies and breathe new air into the organization.” How many citizens could understand that explanation?

Yoon’s election as president reflects 48.56 percent of voters’s hope for the normalization of state affairs, which includes normalizing the prosecution. Few doubted it, as the president would know the infamy of the executive branch’s intruding on the integrity of the prosecution. Few imagined a clash between the presidential office and the prosecution this time.

When the prosecution falls below the sitting powers, the public cannot have faith in the president’s narrative of justice and common sense. The prosecution had a chance to finally achieve independence under a prosecutor general-turned-president. But that hope has been dashed. The country cannot move an inch forward — sadly for the government, the prosecution and the people.