Lee Chun-jae: Betrayal of the Prosecution State

In South Korea's most recent presidential election, a majority of voters chose a candidate who had served as prosecutor general. As a prosecutor, Yoon Suk Yeol became known as a “prosecutor loyal to no one” and for investigating “the powers that be,” including the Park Geun-hye–Choi Soon-sil scandal, former president Lee Myung-bak, and alleged admissions fraud involving Cho Kuk's children. Many voters who hoped for “a restoration of fairness and common sense” supported him. They expected the “prosecutorial elite” to be more capable, fair, and reasonable than the democratic movement forces mired in hypocrisy. But the “prosecutor-led government” that came to power has betrayed the expectations of the voters who chose it. In nearly every area—politics, the economy, and society—things are happening that are neither fair nor reasonable. Prosecutors close to the president have taken control of the administration; vetoes have repeatedly been exercised for reasons people cannot understand; and personnel changes have been made in investigations targeting the president and his associates. Everyone watches in dismay as the person who once called for investigating those in power becomes one of them and uses unchecked force to place himself beyond scrutiny. The prosecution service is one part of this betrayal. Now bound up with political power, it wields the tools of investigation and prosecution more selectively than ever, distorting law and justice. How can such abuses recur openly under an administration born under the banner of “fairness” and “common sense”? Can this vicious cycle be broken?

Korean title: 검찰국가의 배신

Korean author: 이춘재

Korean publisher: 한겨레출판

ISBN-13: 9791172130671