Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Tuesday called on the prosecution and police to resolve their bitter feud over investigative powers or face government arbitration.
The two sides have been at odds recently over a corruption case involving a senior prosecutor accused of taking bribes from a conman and a mid-sized conglomerate.
Kim expressed regret to Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin and Public Administration and Security Minister Maeng Hyung-kyu, who are in charge of supervising the respective agencies, after a Cabinet meeting
“The prosecution and the police should cooperate to resolve the dispute swiftly in accordance with the law and principle,” he was quoted as telling the two ministers.
“We expect the two sides to settle the problem themselves. But if they fail the government will take all measures including arbitration to resolve it,” Yim Jong-yong, a minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, told reporters after the meeting.
The official said the prime minister stressed that police should follow the prosecutors’ command in investigation as the law stipulates, though the police’s authority in launching investigations should be respected.
Police began the investigation before prosecutors launched their own investigation last week. The police criticized the prosecutors for interfering in the case.
The prosecution on Tuesday questioned the prosecutor identified by his surname Kim at the center of the scandal.
Kim allegedly received around 200 million won ($180,000) from con man Cho Hee-pal, the operator of a pyramid scheme, and 400 million won from Eugene Group, a construction-based conglomerate.
He did not respond to reporters’ questions while entering Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ office on Tuesday to face questioning.
Prosecutors were said to be planning to question Kim about whether the money from the company was for favors and if he had wielded his influence in other investigations in return for bribes from people involved.
They were also expected to ask if he gave favors to KTF, a mobile service provider, while he was conducting a probe into the company for malpractice in business transactions in return of free trips abroad in 2008. The company was later merged into KT.
Meanwhile, the police have confirmed that other public officials received kickbacks from Cho.
Police reportedly have indentified three police officials, one local government officer, and one low-ranking employee at the central government.
Among the five accused, one has already been put in jail.
The police have so far traced the transactions in their bank accounts, but are yet to start investigations.
Cho allegedly swindled an estimated 3.5 trillion won ($3.2 billion) to 4 trillion won, perhaps more, from tens of thousands of investors.
Just two days after the police announced that they were conducting an investigation into the corrupt prosecutor last week, the prosecution formed an ad hoc team to proceed with their own probe.
The team, led by prosecutor Kim Soo-chang, summoned the suspect Kim on Tuesday, prior to scheduled face-to-face questioning of the suspect by the police on Friday.
The team consisting of 10 prosecutors and 15 investigators also raided the conglomerate, and the home and office of the prosecutor last week.
