All men are equal before law, including First Brother

A Seoul court has issued an arrest warrant for Park Ji-man, the younger brother of President Park Geun-hye, to force him to testify as a witness at a court hearing on leaked presidential documents. The younger Park, the head of EG Corporation, paid 2 million won (1,748 U.S. dollars) in fine on June 30 after refusing the Seoul Central District Court`s summons to testify as a witness four times. He submitted a letter to the court, saying he would provide a written testimony instead. However, both the defendant and the prosecution insist on the need for him to show up at the court to testify.

Even if he were not the president`s brother, he should respond to the court`s summon to reveal the truth about the high-profile case, in which he himself was implicated. That is the duty of a citizen living in a country under the rule of law.

Actually, he was a key person allegedly involved in a rumored power struggle, which was the origin of the leakage of the presidential documents in question. After a news weekly reported in March last year that Jeong Yun-hoe, who served as an adviser for President Park when she was a lawmaker, was behind the younger Park`s tailing, there were rampant suspicions that Jeong had been intervening in state affairs without holding any official position in the current administration. The scandal led to media reports in November on the leaked presidential documents.

The court can impose a fine of up to 5 million won (4,369 dollars) on a witness refusing to show up for a testimony. If one continues to refuse the summon, the court can put him or her in detention for up to seven days. If the witness still fails to respond to the summon, a chief judge can issue an arrest warrant to force the person to testify at the court. Park`s continued absence goes against both the rule of law and the general public sentiment. If the younger Park keeps refusing to show up, the court should force him to do so in a show of the principle that all men are equal before the law.