Former Taekwang Industrial chairman Park Yeon-cha, who gave a total of 11 billion won in bribes to Roh Moo-hyun (left). [Photo=Roh Moo-hyun Presidential Archives·Yonhap News]

Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae visited the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun in Gimhae and reported that the prosecution will be abolished with the passage of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and Prosecution Act, thus completing the prosecution reform initiated by Roh Moo-hyun. 

The logic is that an innocent Roh Moo-hyun was investigated for bribery due to the prosecution's abuse of investigative and prosecutorial powers and ultimately took his own life. It is also argued that fabricated investigations by the prosecution and the "watch in the rice paddy" reporting by the media drove Roh Moo-hyun to his death. 

This is a typical propaganda and agitation tactic by the Democratic Party. The prosecution's investigation at the time concluded that Roh Moo-hyun received two watches, each worth 100 million won, as bribes. Even though the core issue was not whether Roh Moo-hyun threw the watches in the rice paddy or elsewhere after the investigation began, the Democratic Party has continued this propaganda and agitation for nearly 20 years by focusing on irrelevant details. 

The Reality of the Democratic Party's 'Hero-Making of Roh Moo-hyun'

As Jeong Cheong-rae stated, if Roh Moo-hyun had not received bribes, there would be no reason for him to take his own life. 

Roh Moo-hyun was not merely passively aware while his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, received over 10 billion won in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, chairman of Taekwang Industrial. He actively participated in the bribery crime by repeatedly calling Park Yeon-cha and demanding money. 

The book "I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea: Who Killed Roh Moo-hyun" by Lee In-gyu, former head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Investigation Bureau, who led the investigation into Roh Moo-hyun's bribery case, provides a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Roh Moo-hyun's receipt of 11 billion won in bribes. 

In a media interview at the time of the book's publication, Lee In-gyu stated that he would fight honorably in court to reveal the truth if the Democratic Party and Roh Moo-hyun's bereaved family sued him. However, the Democratic Party and Roh Moo-hyun's bereaved family, whose specialty is filing lawsuits, did not sue Lee In-gyu. 

This is because it is much easier to create a hero out of Roh Moo-hyun through propaganda and agitation than to engage in a court battle with no chance of winning. History manipulation through fabrication and propaganda is the specialty of pro-North leftists. 

Through fabrication and propaganda, they succeeded in impeaching Presidents Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol, and achieved the communization of the Republic of Korea, surpassing mere left-leaning. 

They distorted the history of President Syngman Rhee's arduous founding of the free democratic Republic of Korea and succeeded in demonizing President Park Chung-hee, who ended Korea's history of poverty and achieved national modernization and industrialization. 

The arrest of Army Chief of Staff Jeong Seung-hwa by the Martial Law Command Joint Investigation Headquarters to investigate him for his presence at the scene of Park Chung-hee's assassination was a legitimate execution of duties. However, they distorted the 12.12 incident as a rebellion by Chun Doo-hwan and the new military, and the 5.18 Gwangju armed uprising, which the Supreme Court ruled as a rebellion instigated by Kim Dae-jung, into a democratization movement through fabrication and propaganda. For them, fabricating the Roh Moo-hyun bribery case is easier than taking candy from a baby. 

The People Power Party, which should be defending the free democratic Republic of Korea from the fabrication and propaganda of pro-North leftists, lacks the capacity to do so. Most People Power Party lawmakers have no basic knowledge of modern and contemporary history, such as the history of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, or the 12.12 and 5.18 incidents, and have no intention of learning it. 

The incompetent, ignorant, and opportunistic People Power Party lawmakers are solely concerned with their own positions. They are not interested in fighting against pro-North leftist forces for the sake of the nation and people, but they fiercely engage in internal power struggles for their positions. 

The Silent People Power Party, the Rampaging Democratic Party

People Power Party lawmakers visit their constituencies, pass the time without making a mark, and quietly hold onto their positions, only to fiercely engage in power struggles during election periods. 

They do not know history, so they cannot understand their current position, and because they do not understand their current position, they have no idea of the direction to move forward. History is not merely a past event that has passed; it is connected to the present and governs the present. 

Even though the Democratic Party, under the guise of judicial reform, engages in propaganda and agitation, undermines the separation of powers, continues to pass unconstitutional legislation, and dismantles the system of a free democratic nation, the People Power Party makes no attempt to overturn the situation. Forget attempting; they don't even consider it. 

They are a helpless, incompetent, and ignorant group of model students who can do nothing but memorize English words, math formulas, and law books to fill out answer sheets. 

Their most strenuous effort is filibustering, which merely delays the passage of laws by a few days. Mimicking resistance is their maximum effort, and they lack historical awareness and a sense of urgency to deal with national crises. This is why People Power Party lawmakers are easily swayed by the pro-North leftists' propaganda and agitation regarding sedition and repeatedly apologize for Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law. 

The model student group, the People Power Party lawmakers, habitually stick to their routines and are unable to think outside the box or break it. Such an awkward group is easily manipulated and toyed with by inexperienced individuals like Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jun-seok. 

The People Power Party does not know how to attack and is only focused on defense, and even their defense is clumsy. Proficient only in solving assigned problems and carrying out tasks, they lack the initiative and creative perspective to understand what needs to be done and why. Their narrow scope of thought prevents them from boldly breaking out of their shell. 

The Democratic Party constantly creates problems, and the People Power Party is dragged along by these problems, without any thought of proactively overturning the situation. The Democratic Party attacks, and the People Power Party is busy defending. The People Power Party, which only defends and does not attack, cannot defeat the Democratic Party. To counter the pro-North leftists' fabrication and propaganda, one must know. 

Knowledge is power, not power or position. The existence of the incompetent and ignorant People Power Party lawmakers, who know absolutely nothing, is the cause of the current crisis in the Republic of Korea's free democratic system. This is evident from the fact that the completion of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol was thanks to the People Power Party lawmakers who followed the Democratic Party. 

Revelations from Lee In-gyu, Former Head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Investigation Bureau

According to Lee In-gyu's book, Roh Moo-hyun received a total of 11 billion won in bribes from businessmen, including: △$1.4 million (approximately 1.6184 billion won at the time's exchange rate) for the purchase of an apartment for his children studying abroad △$5 million (approximately 5.8 billion won at the time's exchange rate) in the name of business funds for his son △1.5 billion won for the construction of his residence in Bongha Village △A set of Piaget luxury watches worth 205.5 million won as a 60th birthday gift. 

If the "spirit of Roh Moo-hyun" that pro-North leftists continuously invoke is bribery, then former President Moon Jae-in and presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung are also faithfully inheriting this spirit. 

Lee Sang-jik, former member of the National Assembly and the de facto owner of the Thai-based company Thai Eastar Jet, was appointed chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation under the Moon Jae-in administration. He then hired Moon Jae-in's son-in-law, who had worked at a game company, as executive director of Thai Eastar Jet, paying him over 200 million won for salary and housing expenses. Moon Jae-in is currently on trial for bribery charges on the grounds that the Blue House secretariat was involved in this process. 

Lee Jae-myung, who has pending trials related to various illegal charges including illegal remittances to North Korea, embezzlement related to the Daejang-dong apartment complex construction, and violations of the Public Official Election Act, is also suspected of receiving exorbitant congratulatory money at his son's private wedding ceremony held at Samcheonggak in Seoul immediately after his presidential election victory last year, where the congratulatory money account was reportedly overwhelmed with guests. 

Lee In-gyu's book "I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea: Who Killed Roh Moo-hyun" provides a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Roh Moo-hyun's receipt of 11 billion won in bribes. 

On the occasion of Roh Moo-hyun's 60th birthday in September 2006, Park Yeon-cha, chairman of Taekwang Industrial, presented a set of men's and women's Piaget watches, purchased for 205.5 million won from a luxury watch store in Busan called Myeongbo, to Roh Moo-hyun's brother, Roh Gun-pyeong. During a dinner at the Blue House in the spring of 2007, Roh Moo-hyun, while eating, raised his left hand and said, "Chairman Park, the watches you sent last time were very flashy and good. I am afraid of invasion by the military." 

At the Korea-Vietnam summit held in Seoul in November 2007, Roh Moo-hyun asked the Vietnamese side to help Taekwang Industrial with its thermal power plant project in Vietnam. The following month, Roh Moo-hyun called Park Yeon-cha and requested $5 million (approximately 5.8 billion won at the time's exchange rate) in business funds for Roh Gun-ho. 

In February 2008, Park Yeon-cha transferred $5 million from his JS Global UBS account in Hong Kong to the HSBC Tanado Investment Ltd. account. There was no investment contract detailing business content, investment amount, profit distribution, or investment recovery methods with Roh Gun-ho. The $5 million was given without any compensation. The following month, after a golf meeting with former Senior Secretary to the President Park Jung-gyu, Park Yeon-cha met Roh Moo-hyun at his Bongha Village residence, and Roh Moo-hyun expressed his gratitude for helping his son's business funds. 

In March 2008, after hearing from former Secretary Jeong Sang-moon that 1.5 billion won was needed for the construction of the Bongha Village residence, Park Yeon-cha received a promissory note from Jeong Sang-moon and remitted 1.5 billion won. The promissory note stipulated an annual interest rate of 7% and a repayment date of March 19, 2009, but neither the principal nor the interest was ever repaid. 

In the spring of 2007, during a dinner at the presidential residence with Roh Moo-hyun and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook mentioned that their son Roh Gun-ho was studying in the United States and living in a rented apartment, adding that it would cost about 1 billion won to buy him a house and that she was worried. When Park Yeon-cha asked if 1 billion won would be sufficient, Kwon Yang-sook expressed her gratitude, and Roh Moo-hyun nodded with a smile. 

In June 2007, Roh Moo-hyun called Park Yeon-cha and said he needed $1 million (approximately 1.156 billion won at the time's exchange rate) to buy his son a house in the United States. Shortly after, Chief Secretary Jeong Sang-moon requested that the date of departure on June 30th be strictly observed. 

Park Yeon-cha mobilized over 130 employees to exchange $1 million at banks in Gimhae city. This was because exchanging more than $10,000 per person would be reported to the National Tax Service and the Financial Intelligence Unit. 

Under Park Yeon-cha's instructions, Taekwang Industrial employee Jeong Seung-yeong went to the Blue House on June 29th and delivered a bag containing $1 million to Chief Secretary Jeong Sang-moon. On June 29, 2007, $1 million was delivered, and later an additional $400,000 (approximately 462.4 million won at the time's exchange rate) was delivered. 

Media reports later emerged that after Roh Moo-hyun retired, his daughter Roh Jeong-yeon purchased a luxury three-bedroom condominium, Unit 400 of The Hudson Club, in West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from the Manhattan skyline. 

This is the reality of Roh Moo-hyun, who is revered as a hero by the Democratic Party. 

◆ Hwang Doo-hyong 

Former Washington Correspondent for Yonhap News

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Yonhap News