Eradicating financial crimes

The prosecution has reinstated the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team to crack down on increasingly intelligent stock market crimes. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon ordered its reinstallation as soon as he took office Tuesday, and the team began business the following day. The joint investigation team was once called the “Grim Reaper of Yeouido” among stockbrokers operating in Seoul’s main financial district. In January 2020, however, former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae disbanded it to reduce direct investigations by prosecutors under the Moon Jae-in government’s drive to reform the prosecution.

At the time of its dissolution, the team was investigating a high-profile securities scandal involving the Lime and Optimus funds amid allegations of some influential politicians being implicated in these financial schemes, which were based on bad investments, Ponzi scheme funding structures and alleged fraud. After the abolition of the team drained the investigation, all of the political bigwigs suspected of involvement escaped the long arm of the law without an indictment. The financial and judiciary communities harshly criticized the dismantling of the team probing the scandal, since the crimes were highly sophisticated and damages amounted to 2 trillion won ($1.57 billion).

The new minister must demand a reinvestigation into the scandal. Han, who called for applying the same standard if corruption is found in the new government, should ward off external pressure. The resurrected team should start by revisiting the fund scandal and clear up all suspicions.