[Editorial] Raid on Chun family

On Tuesday, about 90 investigators from the prosecution swooped down on the homes of former President Chun Doo-hwan and his family and the companies established by his two sons in search of his hidden assets. The search continued the next day.

The massive raid, which even put a metal detector to use, followed the establishment of a special task force by the prosecutor-general, the revision of a law by the legislature and the incumbent president’s determination to put an end to the case that has remained unresolved since 1997.

In its 1977 ruling, the Supreme Court convicted the Army general-turned strongman of treason, sentenced him to life in prison and imposed 220.5 billion won in fines. Chun, who took power in a military coup, brutally suppressed a civil uprising and took hundreds of billions of won in bribes, was freed by presidential amnesty after serving eight months. Chun has since paid no more than 53.3 billion won of what he owes.

The long search for Chun’s hidden assets gained renewed vigor when Chae Dong-wook, shortly after his inauguration as prosecutor-general, formed a special task force for the collection of the fines that had been left unpaid. He did so in May as the statutory limit, set on October, was fast approaching.

President Park Geun-hye threw her weight behind Chae when she said last month that her administration was determined to resolve the case. At a Cabinet meeting, she said, “I would like to ask what the previous administrations did (to collect the unpaid fines).”

Under mounting public pressure, the legislature amended the law on corruption later in the month, extending the statutory limit by seven years. The amendment also made it possible to collect fines from Chun’s children and others if they were found to have acquired any of Chun’s hidden assets.

In their raid on Chun’s home, the criminal investigators seized a substantial amount of cash, a high-value painting and other items of value. They also seized computer files, artworks and other materials at the homes of his children and some others and the offices of the book publisher Shigongsa and the tourist resort Herb Village ― both managed by Chun’s first son, who was also accused of establishing a shell company in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.

Chun’s three sons and one daughter reportedly hold more than 100 billion won in assets confirmed to be in their ownership. Now the prosecution’s job is to establish how much has come from the former president. It also needs to determine whether or not any money from Chun’s secret funds found its way into pockets of Chun’s younger brother and other relatives.

In the initial stage of the investigation, a vexing question that comes to the mind of the public is: Where has the prosecution been all this while? Did it really need a chastisement from the president and an amendment to the law before launching a massive raid on the Chun family?

But the public is well aware that the prosecution took no action to take back 7.3 billion won from Chun’s second son, despite the court confirming in 2004 that the amount of money came from his father. Irrevocable damage will be done to the prestige of the law-enforcement agency if it repeats such incompetence this time.