By Gim Jisuk
The National Prosecutor’s Office attempted to seize the Blue House autonomous development secretary’s office yesterday (January the 10th) as part of its investigation into suspicions of election intervention by the Ulsan Mayor’s office.
The Blue House (the Korean President’s official residence) criticised the action as a “show” in a statement released to KBS News. An official said in a telephone conversation with a KBS reporter today that “the prosecution reported to the media that the office was seized, but that’s not the statement we’re making.” In particular, the official said, the NPO was claiming that they made a request several times for the Blue House to submit necessary data, but “that is not true.”
“The search warrant for the confiscation stated that everything [seized] was related to a crime,” the official continued. “[But] if we were provided with a list [of items/data] made by the prosecution, the data should be provided according to the public inquiry process, not seizure,” he explained.
The prosecution criticized the Blue House for its statement, saying, “The Blue House is failing to respond to seizure search warrants, without any legal ground [for its failure to respond]… we haven’t confirmed that there are any military secrets or grounds for serious national harm [held within the requested/confiscated date] in the Office of Self-Development, based on Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act – which are the only grounds under which the request can be refused. The court has already issued a warrant – if the recepients want to refuse it, they must submit a letter of intent to reject it.”
Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act states that ① places that require military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge of the lawsuit. ② The person in charge shall not refuse the consent except in case of serious harm to the State.
Analysis: The conflict between Mun Jaein’s administration and the National Prosecutor’s Office (NPO) is showing no signs of abating. Mun and his allies have been dogged by the story for a year, which exploded when the NPO began investigating his former Justice Minister, Jo Guk, on charges of corruption. Mun’s move to reassign prosecutors who were investigating the case will do little to convince his detractors of his commitment to rooting out graft, but similarly many of Mun’s supporters feel that the NPO’s behaviour is itself politically-motivated. The scandal has been incredibly damaging for Mun, though, and as Korea gears up for parliamentary elections in April his opponents are increasingly attempting to press their advantage. The allegations against Jo – claims that he fabricated transcripts to smooth the path of his young adult children – are particularly piquant given most ordinary Koreans’ feeling that elites shamelessly break the rules to give family members advantages.