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Is SK accidental target of rivalry in gov’t? |
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Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae
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By Kim Jae-won
Is it bad blood between two powerful government agencies ― the National Tax Service (NTS) and prosecutors?
Some speculate that SK, being the target of fierce investigations by prosecutors, may be put in the crosshairs as the result of the rivalry between the two.
Thus, those with enough knowledge about the two agencies predict that tax collectors will try and get even with prosecutors, perhaps targeting prosecutors-turned lawyers for probes.
They don’t offer examples but argue that if this tit-for-tat takes place, it won’t be the first time.
NTS Commissioner Lee Hyun-dong
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In this connection, NTS officials obviously feel uncomfortable about prosecutors’ aggressive investigation against its former high-ranking officer, who had allegedly taken billions of won in bribes in exchange for giving favors to SK Group.
About 10 investigators of the prosecutors’ office raided the Seoul Regional Tax Office Tuesday, taking documents related to former chief of the second investigation bureau Lee Hee-wan, suspected of getting 3.1 billion won of “consulting fees” from SK for providing favors to the conglomerate in tax probes.
This is the second time in two years that prosecutors raided the tax agency. In October 2010, a group of investigators of the prosecutors’ office took documents of the tax authority’s Seoul office for an investigation into Taekwang Group’s slush funds.
“It was not a big raid. We just submitted documents to them in accordance with the law as they came to us with warrants issued by courts,” said an official of the NTS on condition of anonymity.
He worried that NTS is increasingly being described as home of corruption with the investigation.
“It’s all done. I do not want to hear more about that.”
Another director of the NTS hoped that the prosecutors should be more careful in dealing with such matters.
“The term ‘raid’ can create a misunderstanding as if we have done something wrong,” he said.
Sources say that the NTS can counterattack prosecutors with a strong weapon of its own ― tax investigation. One source said that there is one precedent that tax collectors pinched prosecutors when they felt hurt while investigating the income tax of lawyers, who previously worked as prosecutors.
“NTS launched a special tax investigation against prosecutors-turned-lawyers in 2007 when its former commissioner Jeon Goon-pyo was investigated by the prosecutors’ office for bribery,” said the source familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity.
He said that tax officials were upset with the prosecutors at the time because prosecutors called Jeon to its Busan office, which they think violated protocol.
“They were upset because Jeon was not investigated in Seoul. Jeon could not help but go down to the southern port city for five hours in a car.”
The agency even sent a press release to reporters regarding the matter to unveil the lawyers’ wrongdoings, according to the source.
He said that the targeted lawyers called prosecutors to stop annoying tax officials as they feel victimized by the power struggle.
Analysts say that the Jeon case became a turning point of the NTS-prosecutors’ office relationship. Before the case, the two powerful government agencies cooperated as both needed each other.
For prosecutors, the tax office’s enormous amounts of documents for big companies are crucial for its investigations, while NTS needed the prosecutors’ favor in its corruption cases, according to observers.
The prosecutors’ office said that NTS is not an exception for investigation.
“We probe any government agency if it is suspected of crimes,” said Kim Seok-jae, acting spokesman for the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Kim said that the office raided the tax agency with warrants issued by the court.
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위험한 복수?
힘있는 권력기관인 국세청과 검찰은 서로 앙숙 관계인가?
어떤 이들은 검찰의 강도 높은 수사를 받고 있는 SK가 아마도 두 기관 사이의 라이벌 관계 때문에 더욱 비난을 받는 것이라고 말한다.
이 두 기관을 잘 아는 사람들은 국세청이 검찰 출신 변호사에 대한 조사를 통해 검찰에 복수할 가능성이 있다고 예측한다.
이들은 이런 복수에 대한 증거를 제시하지는 못하지만, 이런 보복이 처음이 아니라고 주장한다.
국세청 직원들은 SK그룹으로부터 세무조사 무마를 대가로 수십억원의 뇌물을 수수한 혐의를 받고 있는 전직 고위간부를 겨눈 검찰의 공격적인 조사에 대해 불편한 마음을 가지고 있다.
지난 화요일 약 10명의 검찰 수사관들이 서울지방국세청을 압수수색했다. 이들은 세무조사를 무마해주는 대가로 SK로부터 31억원의 “자문료”를 받은 혐의를 받고 있는 전 서울청조사2국 이희완 국장과 관련된 자료를 가져갔다.
검찰이 국세청을 압수수색 한 것은 지난 2년간 두 번째 있는 일이다. 2010년 10월, 검찰 수사관들이 태광그룹 비자금 사건과 관련해 서울청의 자료를 가져간 적이 있다.
“그게 뭐 대단한 압수수색은 아니었다. 우리는 검찰이 법원으로부터 발부 받은 영장을 가져왔기 때문에 법에 따라 관련 자료를 준 것 뿐” 이라고 국세청의 한 관계자가 익명을 요구하며 말했다.
그는 국세청이 이번 검찰 조사 때문에 비리의 온상으로 비쳐지는 것에 대해 걱정했다.
“다 지나간 일이다. 더 이상 이 문제에 대해 이야기하고 싶지 않다”고 이 관계자는 말했다.
또 다른 국세청의 한 과장은 검찰이 이런 문제를 다루는 데 있어서 좀더 조심스러웠으면 좋겠다고 말했다.
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shosta@koreatimes.co.kr |
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