One essential thing you need to live in a fair society is solid legal justice, for which highly ethical and capable legal professionals -- prosecutors, judges and lawyers -- are indispensable.
Sadly, this is not the case with Korean society. A recent case highlights that the legal community is as vulnerable to corruption as other sectors of society.
The central figure in the latest scandal involving legal professionals is Jung Woon-ho, CEO of cosmetics firm Nature Republic, who is serving a prison term for illegal overseas gambling.
The whole picture has yet to be disclosed, yet those already mentioned by investigators, attorneys and media reports include senior judges and prosecutors, attorneys who were their former colleagues and a broker who allegedly acted as middlemen between the defendant and legal professionals.
As in similar cases, the scandal revolves around the allegations that Jung tried to seek influence -- from prosecutors and judges -- to get lighter punishment.
Jung was arrested last October on charges of illegal gambling in places like the Philippines and Macau. The lower court convicted him, handing out a one-year prison term.
Both Jung and the prosecution appealed the ruling, and Jung allegedly hired a broker, who met a senior judge at the Seoul appeals court over dinner. Court officials said that the judge “happened to be assigned” to preside over Jung’s trial the day after the dinner and that he asked to be replaced.
This alone smacks of corrupt ties between Jung, Lee and the judge. After a news report about the dinner, the judge tendered his resignation.
News reports say that Lee has a wide network of legal professionals -- including serving prosecutors and judges. This raise suspicions about the prosecution’s decision to demand 2 1/2 years in prison in the appeals court, compared with three years it demanded in the lower court. The appellate court lowered Jung’s term to eight months.
The fact that Jung was not indicted in 2013 and 2014 when he was under investigation for overseas gambling also raises suspicion that he relied on corrupt ties with the police and prosecution. Jung allegedly promised to give 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in attorney fees in return for securing suspension of his sentence and bail from the appeals court. The attorney, a former senior judge, filed a suit against Jung, accusing him of assaulting her during a prison interview.
The amount of money, as well as the names mentioned in the case, point to the possibility of a big scandal in the offing. The suspected involvement of some prosecutors and prosecutors-turned attorneys alone warrants the appointment of an independent counsel to get to the bottom of the case.
