[Editorial] Prove it in court

Democratic Party pressures prosecutors, judges ahead of first ruling on its leader

A lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed a criminal law revision bill with a clause introducing a new crime dubbed “legal distortion.”

The main point of the clause is that a prosecutor would face up to 10 years in prison if he is found to have distorted the interpretation of evidence or the application of law.

The bill seems to target the prosecutor who decided not to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee in connection with her acceptance of a luxury-brand handbag from a pastor. The party argues it is influence peddling, which is a crime.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday referred the bill to the bill deliberation subcommittee. The committee and the subcommittee are dominated by the opposition party which holds a large majority in the National Assembly.

The ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party clashed over the bill in the committee. The opposition party argued the prosecution's investigation and indictment decisions are biased, while the ruling party countered that the bill was proposed for the opposition party to punish prosecutors as it likes.

On the day, the committee also fixed the date of its impeachment hearing on a senior prosecutor on Oct. 2.

The prosecutor investigated Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, in September last year in connection with an incident in which Ssangbangwool Group gave millions of dollars in cash to North Korea without authorization in a bid to get a chance to do business with the North.

The trial of Lee is underway in connection with the case. He was charged with conspiring with Lee Hwa-young, then vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, to make Ssangbangwool pay North Korea the expenses of a North Korean smart farm project that the provincial office promised to push and the "protocol" expenses for Lee's envisioned visit to the North. At that time, Lee was governor of the province.

In its impeachment bill, the Democratic Party cites that the prosecutor abused his power by coaxing Lee Hwa-young into making false statements about the incident. But it has not presented evidence supporting the argument. Lee Hwa-young was convicted.

The committee will call 32 witnesses for the impeachment hearing. The party is said to have excluded people who have testified against Lee Jae-myung from the list of witnesses. This shows the party is going to use the hearing only as a means to criticize the prosecutor’s investigation.

Another similar Democratic Party bill was sent to the subcommittee on the day, too. It stipulates that prosecutors must be punished if they fabricate evidence or coerce perjury. The party seeks to impeach other prosecutors who investigated allegations that Gyeonggi Provincial Office under Gov. Lee gave undue favors to Daejang-dong real estate developers.

The party is expediting the proceedings of bills to check the prosecution and the impeachment of prosecutors after they demanded Lee Jae-myung be sentenced to two years in prison on charges of giving false information as a candidate during the 2022 presidential election. The sentence is the maximum punishment for the charges.

Pressure on judges is mounting as well ahead of the first-trial ruling on Lee's false information charge on Nov. 15. His supporters post online that they will move to impeach judges if they make the wrong decisions. This is an act of shaking the foundation of the judicial systems and separation of powers.

It is likely that judges feel burden looking on the party as it escalates attacks on the prosecution. After the court convicted former Vice Gov. Lee in June in connection with the Ssangbangwool case, Democratic Party lawmakers bluntly condemned its ruling, with their leadership saying that judges need to be elected.

If the party believes there are problems with investigation and trial, all it has to do is follow normal procedures. Pressuring the prosecution and the court this way is abuse of its majority in the Assembly. If the party believes Lee is innocent, they must prove so in the court using evidence and legal principles.

By Korea Herald(khnews@heraldcorp.com)