Police to question prosecutor over judge’s influence-peddling

Judge allegedly asked for probe over slander of politician wife

Police are considering whether to question a prosecutor over allegations that she had been asked by a judge to indict a citizen who slandered his wife, who was a ruling party lawmaker.

If the judge is found to have peddled his influence, which is a serious offense, he may be stripped of his position.

According to media reports, police may question prosecutor Park Eun-jeong of Incheon Prosecutors’ Office’s Bucheon division over an allegation that she was asked by Judge Kim Jae-ho of the Uijeongbu District Court’s Goyang division to indict an Internet user who slandered his wife Na Kyung-won in 2005.

The case started when a netizen was indicted for posting articles on his blog, denouncing Na for attending the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in a Seoul hotel in 2004. Though she claimed she went to the event without knowing its nature and got off the venue immediately after learning of it, her visit has been criticized by members of the public who oppose the militarization of Japan. Internet users have uploaded tens of thousands of posts branding Na a traitor.

Na filed a complaint with the prosecution against the netizen in 2005 over slander. The Internet user’s activity was regarded as a misdemeanor since all of his 70 posts were copied from newspaper articles or other persons’ postings. It was highly unlikely that he was to be sought for penalization.

But the direction of the investigation seems to have changed when Kim, who worked at the Seoul Western District Court at that time, allegedly rang Park and asked her to indict the netizen. He convinced a reluctant Park that he would “take care of everything once indictment takes place.”

Kim, the netizen, was indicted in April 2006 and given a 7 million won ($6,300) fine by the Supreme Court eight months later. His conviction dampened the denouncement against Na to a certain level, observers said.

The story was revealed last October by the nation’s most popular podcast, “Naneun Ggomsuda.” In its Oct. 24 episode, panelists claimed that Kim asked a prosecutor for an indictment, which could be interpreted as an order.

They said Kim has chose the netizen because he lived in western Seoul, where the judge worked, so if action was taken against him, it would be by his colleagues.

The program’s claim has reportedly tainted the image of Na’s ethics, contributing to her loss in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. Na’s aides have filed a complaint of defamation against Ju Jin-woo, one of the panelists of the show.

Na said that her husband was abroad at the time and that influence peddling was impossible.

On Tuesday, the panelists announced that Park had come clean about the whole incident.

“We did not expect Park to become a whistleblower because the prosecution is such a reclusive organization that spilling the beans about its own irregularities could claim her career,” said Kim Eo-jun, the main host of “Ggomsuda” during the programs’ latest episode.

He said he had revealed Park’s name in order to draw public attention so that the prosecution could not mistreat her behind the doors.

The Supreme Court and the prosecution refused to confirm the allegations. Park also remained tightlipped toward the media.

“Park has been acknowledged for her righteousness and honesty. Her words will be respected,” Baek Hye-ryeon, a former prosecutor and Park’s close friend, said in a radio show Thursday. “But there will be a silent pressure asking her to resign.”

Police said they consider questioning Park as a witness to Na’s case, but did not confirm any detail about her.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)