Independent Counsel to Probe Prosecution Corruption

The country’s ninth independent counsel was launched Thursday to investigate prosecutors who allegedly accepted money and entertainment as bribes.

Special prosecutor Min Kyung-sik will be assisted by 66 prosecutors and police officers over a maximum investigation period of 55 days.

The counsel will have two teams. The first consisting of four prosecutors will probe active and former prosecutors, including Park Ki-joon, former chief of the Busan District Public Prosecutors’ Office who allegedly took bribes from a builder operating in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province.

The other has five prosecutors for investigating figures at the Seoul High Prosecutors` Office and the Gangneung District Public Prosecutors’ Office in Gangwon Province who reportedly received entertainment as bribes.

After the plate-hanging ceremony, Min told reporters, “I hope the investigation will be an opportunity to root out the indecent culture of entertainment and sponsorship widespread not only among prosecutors, but also among state-run organizations and companies,” adding, “To determine indictment, we will verify the objectivity and credibility of the suspects’ statements by securing statements from informants.”

“The builder denies (giving money and entertainment) in return for favors. We have no evidence as proof but we can identify it legally in a sufficient manner,” he said, indicating that the probe will see if prosecutors took bribes in return for giving favors to the builder.

baltika7@donga.com