South Korea’s top prosecutor said Tuesday that the prosecution would accelerate investigations into alleged wrongdoings under past administrations and did not rule out the possibility of a probe into former President Lee Myung-bak.

Three former presidents -- two conservative and one liberal: Park Geun-hye, Lee and the late Roh Moo-hyun -- are concurrently under the microscope of state prosecutors as the liberal Moon Jae-in administration is pushing for a campaign to eradicate deep-rooted evils in society. 



“If there is evidence, it would be difficult for us (prosecutors) to ignore. We don’t put any restrictions on the subjects of investigations,” Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il said during a meeting with reporters, when asked whether former President Lee could be subject to investigation.

The top prosecutor said that he would assign more prosecutors to teams looking into cases linked to past administrations, ranging from a blacklist of liberal artists to alleged election manipulation by the nation’s spy agency.

The prosecution is looking into allegations that the National Intelligence Service, under the Lee administration between 2009 and 2013, implemented a blacklist of cultural figures critical of the administration and operated an online smear campaign to sway the 2012 presidential election in favor of then-conservative candidate Park.

Ongoing prosecutorial investigations into these cases have yet to reach Lee, despite suspicion that the former conservative leader may have been the one behind the illicit activities.

As for former President Park Geun-hye, who called her trial “political revenge in the name of the rule of law,” the top prosecutor said that “Park’s case got here due to (her) violations of the Constitution.”

The prosecution indicted Park on charges of bribery and abuse of power in connection with the corruption scandal that led to her ouster in March. With her trial underway, the court decided to extend her detention by another six months Friday. Park expressed regret over the decision and her lawyers quit en masse in protest, taking issue with the fairness of the court Monday.

The late liberal President Roh’s family members are also facing possible investigation, as the conservative Liberty Korea Party has filed a complaint against them over suspected corruption. The case was closed with his suicide in 2009. The prosecution has not yet decided whether to reopen the case.

Moon Moo-il also talked about ongoing efforts to make the prosecution politically neutral and its investigation process transparent in the face of criticism that the prosecution is politicized and holds too much power with its exclusive authority to indict.

“We are pushing to leave all decision-making records online during my tenure,” he said. “There should be no shame whenever anyone reviews cases (by making the process transparent.)”

The chief prosecutor supported the ideas of creating an independent investigative body to look into corruption by high-ranking public servants -- including prosecutors -- and rebalancing the prosecution’s rights to investigate and indict with the police.

But he reserved his stance on what the prosecution thinks about the specific suggestions that have been floated.

Public distrust of the prosecution hit a tipping point in the wake of the corruption scandal, which laid bare suspected collusive ties among politicians, ranking public servants and business tycoons. The prosecution was criticized for being lenient to the powerful.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)