[Editorial] Spineless prosecutors

Prosecutors missed another important opportunity to firmly establish their political independence when they refrained from detaining former spymaster Won Sei-hoon after charging him with intervening in the December presidential election.

Wrapping up their two-month investigation, prosecutors concluded that Won had orchestrated the National Intelligence Service’s systematic and extensive involvement in domestic politics since January 2012.

Under his instructions, they said, a dozen or so NIS agents, using several hundred IDs, posted more than 10,000 political comments including attacks on opposition candidates in the December election, on 15 liberal and conservative websites between January and December last year.

Based on their findings, prosecutors indicted Won, the right-hand man of former President Lee Myung-bak, on charges of breaking the law on the election of public officials as well as the one on the spy agency.

While bringing election law breach charges against the former NIS director, prosecutors curiously stopped short of seeking an arrest warrant. The decision was hard to understand, given the serious nature of the matter and the possibility of Won attempting to destroy or hide unfavorable evidence.

A prosecution official cited as the reason the imminent expiration of the statute of limitations on the case, which is due on June 19.

This explanation is hardly convincing as prosecutors had virtually completed their probe around the end of May to ensure that they had enough time to get an arrest warrant against Won.

Behind the prosecutors’ incomprehensible decision was Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn’s unwarranted intervention. According to reports, Hwang was not only against detaining Won but was opposed to charging him with election law violations.

Hwang refused to endorse prosecutors’ push to charge Won with breaking the election law because the conviction of the ex-NIS head would mean that the December presidential election had been manipulated by the spy agency.

This could undermine the legitimacy of President Park Geun-hye’s victory and might trigger lawsuits to nullify the election outcome. Hwang wanted to prevent such an embarrassing situation from becoming a reality.

As justice minister, Hwang has the right to supervise prosecutors’ investigations. But he never officially invoked this authority because he did not want to give the impression of meddling in the investigation against Won.

However, he tried to dictate the outcome of the probe, which prosecutors found totally unacceptable. So the head of the investigation team openly attacked the minister for trying to prevent them from prosecuting the former spy chief.

Hwang should have behaved more prudently. Although he has the right to supervise investigations, he should use it in a reasonable way. Otherwise, he will face criticism for abusing his power.

By forcing prosecutors’ hand, Hwang thwarted their efforts to stay independent of political pressure and change their image as a spineless law enforcement agency.

Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook has thus far won plaudits for leading the prosecution in the right direction. But he succumbed to the minister’s pressure and compromised on handling Won. He should have stood his ground.

Won’s indictment has again illustrated the need to overhaul the spy agency. Lawmakers need to rein in the powerful organization and prevent it from abusing its power and meddling in domestic politics.