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Samsung Group's head office in Jung-gu, Seoul.
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The National Assembly¡¯s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill charging a special counsel with investigating the Samsung corruption scandal. Both opposition and ruling-camp lawmakers on the subcommittee scrutinizing the bill gave the green light to a draft that could have wide-ranging repercussions for Korean society.
The law charges the special counsel with investigating all suspicions about the Samsung Group -- from the conglomerate's attempt to transfer group ownership to chairman Lee Kun-hee's son by underhand means to use of slush funds to lobby powerful public figures since 1997 including senior prosecutors, illegal setting up of bank accounts in executives¡¯ names to hide the slush funds, and alleged delivery of congratulatory money to President-elect Roh Moo-hyun in 2002.
The Grand National Party¡¯s demand for an investigation of the congratulatory money is reflected in the bill in the form of the special counsel's task to probe Samsung's suspected lobbying of the "senior-most government official." The parties did not discuss another pending bill that would establish an independent anti-corruption body, which Cheong Wa Dae has insisted must pass; therefore the president will likely veto the special counsel bill.
A presidential veto could delay passage, but the combined number of house seats of the three parties backing the bill -- the United New Democratic Party (140), the GNP (129) and the Democratic Labor Party (9) -- is at 278 far larger than the quorum of 200 or two-thirds of lawmakers required to re-approve a vetoed bill. In any case, it is unlikely that an investigation will start before the presidential election, considering that it will take more than a month to appoint a special counsel and prepare for the investigation. That means the issue is unlikely to become a major campaign issue in the last hectic weeks before the election, though it could encourage the broader ruling camp to up its offensive against corruption.
Under the bill, the Korean Bar Association would recommend three candidates for the president to choose a special counsel from. The counsel could appoint three assistants and would then be authorized to investigate for 60 days, in addition to 20 days for preparation. If necessary, that can be extended for another 45 days -- first 30 days and then another 15. The counsel could make just one announcement of interim results.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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