The independent counsel who led the investigation into President Park Geun-hye’s corruption allegations claimed that the arrest of a former top presidential aide would have been possible, if there had been more time.
“We would have gotten an arrest warrant (for former Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo), if only we had more time to make up for the missing parts as pointed out by the court,” Park Young-soo told reporters Friday over lunch.
He also expressed regrets on the thwarted face-to-face questioning of the president, as well as the raid upon the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
“If we had been able to seize and search (key offices of the Blue House), we could have figured out how Woo abused his power,” Park said.
“As for the face-to-face questioning (of President Park), we conceded on most conditions such as the time, place and method of the questioning, but it is regretful that (such efforts) ended in vain.”
The special investigation team, which had been looking into the extensive scandal involving the incumbent president and her close aides, closed down Tuesday, after 90 days.
It sought to extend the inquiry by another month to continue to look into unresolved issues, but faced a dead end due to acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn’s rejection and the ruling conservative party’s objection.
During its term, the team had demanded for an arrest warrant for former Blue House official Woo on charges of abetting the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil in her meddling in state affairs. The request, however, was turned down by the court.
“The investigation (on Woo) had been ongoing for a while. It is just that we didn’t reveal the details until wrapping up the (so-called) blacklist case,” Park explained, in answer to questions on whether the team had taken too much time before closing in on Woo.
The blacklist case, which referrs to the allegations that the government had been keeping a list of anti-government artists so as to keep watch on them and exclude them from favors, ended with the arrest of high-profile figures. Former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun were arrested, though the president’s connection was never fully proven in the process.
Woo’s case is to be handed over to state prosecutors, who are expected to revive the former special investigation headquarters on Park’s corruption case.
Concerns persist, however, that former senior prosecutor Woo may still hold influence over the organization, deterring officials from aggressively looking into his charges.
By Bae Hyun-jung ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
