[30 Days to Gongsoocheo Launch] Without Control Measures and Checks, Power Becomes Another Sword It Wields

Due to focus on decentralizing prosecution authority, contents unsuitable under legal system included
Concerns over presidential power centralization lead to calls in National Assembly for appointment of Public Officials Corruption Investigation Office chief
Calls to clearly distinguish cases and expand organization for proper function also raised

In one month, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo) will be launched. After intense debates over the past 20 years about whether to introduce it, the new concept of Gong-su-cheo is finally entering our judicial system. Citizens, who had to repeatedly recall the phrase "justice is only for the rich and powerful" while watching the prosecution weaken before power and conglomerates, hope that Gong-su-cheo will become a guardian of justice that eradicates corruption among the "powerful." On the other hand, there are also many concerns that Gong-su-cheo might become another "roof on a roof," being misused as a tool by political powers to eliminate opponents. To mark its 32nd anniversary, Asia Economy takes the opportunity to examine the conditions for Gong-su-cheo's success ahead of its July launch and points out issues that need to be resolved before the final step.

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Seok-jin, Kim Hyung-min, Jo Sung-pil] After long debates, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo), set to officially launch in mid-July, is expected to contribute to making our society cleaner by eradicating corruption among powerful elites?a wish shared by all citizens beyond political interests.

However, since Gong-su-cheo was initially promoted as part of prosecutorial reform aimed at decentralizing the concentrated powers of the prosecution, it is also true that the Gong-su-cheo Act contains elements incompatible with our constitution and criminal law system, as well as controversial provisions.

Legal experts unanimously agree that the first prerequisite for Gong-su-cheo to successfully establish itself in society is to secure "political neutrality." They also emphasize the need to establish "control mechanisms" to prevent Gong-su-cheo from becoming another political power institution.

◆ The primary condition for Gong-su-cheo's success is securing ‘political neutrality’ = The foremost requirement experts cite for Gong-su-cheo's success is how to secure its "political neutrality."

Attorney No Hee-beom, a former constitutional researcher at the Constitutional Court, said, "Gong-su-cheo must be politically independent," adding, "If Gong-su-cheo operates under the influence of the president or the ruling power, how is it different from the current prosecution?"

He predicted, "The success of Gong-su-cheo depends on the people. The political independence and fairness of the Gong-su-cheo chief are paramount. The success or failure will hinge on how the chief and deputy chief, as well as investigative personnel, are appointed." He further proposed, "It is important to obtain more than two-thirds approval from the National Assembly to select individuals free from the appointing authority's influence."

Attorney A, a former prosecutor, also said, "The most controversial issue so far, and what the public worries about, is that the purpose of introducing Gong-su-cheo was to properly investigate high-ranking officials' corruption, but it has been used politically?protecting allies and harshly investigating opponents." He added, "Ultimately, the most important thing is to appoint someone who can maintain political neutrality as the Gong-su-cheo chief, which will be the basic premise for Gong-su-cheo to settle."

Former Korean Bar Association President Kim Hyun expressed concern, saying, "The president appoints the Gong-su-cheo chief, so it is highly likely that someone who follows the president's intentions will be nominated. This would concentrate power excessively in the president's hands." He added, "Our country's problem is the imperial presidency. The president's powers are too strong, causing issues, and Gong-su-cheo's creation further strengthens presidential power, which is against the spirit of the constitution." He argued, "It would be desirable for the National Assembly to appoint the Gong-su-cheo chief," emphasizing, "The people must be able to control it, and ultimately the National Assembly should have control."

He also stressed, "The first Gong-su-cheo chief should be a calm, wise person with a sense of balance," warning, "We should avoid someone who is overly ambitious, combative, or trapped in a single factional logic."

Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha said, "For Gong-su-cheo's successful establishment, it is crucial that the legislative intent and purpose are not compromised," adding, "Since the president has the authority to appoint the Gong-su-cheo chief, there may be concerns that the interests of the president's party could be represented. Therefore, it is necessary to objectify, specify, and clarify the selection criteria and requirements for the Gong-su-cheo chief and prosecutors to seek the consent of stakeholders with differing opinions."

◆ Avoid appointing those from Minbyun or Uri-beop Research Group; inappropriate to comment on investigation targets = Voices also warned against appointing Gong-su-cheo chiefs based on political alignment, known as "code appointments."

Former Seoul Bar Association President Kim Han-gyu said, "For Gong-su-cheo to settle, it is important to faithfully guarantee independence as stated in the law and the original purpose of introduction, and the appointment of the Gong-su-cheo chief will be the first button to fasten." He added, "For this, I think legal professionals close to the ruling camp should not be appointed as Gong-su-cheo chief."

He continued, "If someone from the 'Lawyers for a Democratic Society' or 'Uri-beop Research Group' is forcibly appointed, factional disputes over Gong-su-cheo investigations will intensify. This is the biggest concern," predicting, "Since this is the first button, President Moon Jae-in should consciously make concessions for institutional settlement. Otherwise, the country will fall into chaos."

Kim also pointed out, "Regarding political neutrality, the ruling party's perception is more concerning than the Gong-su-cheo system itself," criticizing, "Since Gong-su-cheo was introduced as a reflective measure because the prosecution failed to properly investigate power, despite emphasizing independence and neutrality, it is very inappropriate for the ruling party to openly mention investigation targets such as Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl or prosecutors involved in former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's case."

◆ Need to resolve lack of control and check mechanisms = There are criticisms that despite Gong-su-cheo's powerful authority, there are insufficient mechanisms to control and check it.

Former Bar Association President Kim said, "Currently, there is no organization to check Gong-su-cheo in the law," and argued, "It is a necessary part, and it would be good to give that function to the prosecution." He added, "Lawyers want the rule of law, but Gong-su-cheo is not mentioned in the constitution, and allowing Gong-su-cheo to control the prosecution, which is in the constitution, is against the rule of law, so many lawyers oppose it."

Attorney A pointed out, "Gong-su-cheo is made an independent organization, but there is no control mechanism," explaining, "For example, in the prosecution, non-prosecution decisions can be appealed and re-appealed, and constitutional complaints are possible, but for cases investigated by Gong-su-cheo, complainants or accusers can only file a re-investigation request to the court, and even if Gong-su-cheo dismisses the case, there is no right to appeal."

Lawmaker Hwang said, "It is naturally necessary to establish measures to prevent Gong-su-cheo's overgrowth," pointing out, "Since it is possible to selectively handle only cases suitable for the prosecution, it is reasonable to strengthen the prosecution requirements according to the principle of mandatory prosecution and have Gong-su-cheo actively agree to prevent overgrowth itself." He added, "Also, it should be possible to check power abuse through the National Assembly's impeachment of the Gong-su-cheo chief," but cautioned, "However, the impeachment right should be maintained within the scope of not being used politically or maliciously."

He further added, "It is necessary to make disciplinary procedures for Gong-su-cheo members' misconduct transparent and to strengthen the level of discipline."

◆ Expand investigative personnel and diversify human resources = There were also calls to increase the number of investigative personnel stipulated in the current law and diversify the human composition.

Attorney No Young-hee said, "Gong-su-cheo has only about 65 people including prosecutors and investigators, so the organization is very small, and it is questionable whether Gong-su-cheo can function properly with this organization," emphasizing, "It is necessary to make the Gong-su-cheo organization larger and clearly distinguish between cases that Gong-su-cheo should handle and those it should not, based on the prosecutorial reform plan currently proposed by the Ministry of Justice, so that Gong-su-cheo can function effectively."

She added, "The current prosecutorial reform plan by the Ministry of Justice strengthens the 'criminal division' and restrictively recognizes the 'special division,' so many cases previously handled by the prosecution's special division may need to be handled by Gong-su-cheo," expressing concern, "The current Gong-su-cheo organization or structure may find it difficult to cope."

No also pointed out the need to improve the human composition of Gong-su-cheo prosecutors and investigators. She said, "According to the Gong-su-cheo Act, Gong-su-cheo prosecutors are likely to be selected mainly from prosecutors or lawyers with prosecutorial experience, and investigators are likely to be appointed from prosecution or police backgrounds," adding, "A separate route for selecting Gong-su-cheo prosecutors and investigators should be created, and a system to train them separately should be established."

Lawmaker Hwang pointed out, "The composition of investigators to prosecutors is asymmetrical at about 40 investigators to 25 prosecutors, so a significant reinforcement of investigative personnel is needed."

He continued, "Also, since dispatched investigative personnel from the prosecution office are included in the composition, there is concern that 'leniency' may occur during investigations related to the prosecution," emphasizing, "It is necessary to broadly select personnel with investigative experience outside the prosecution office to diversify the composition of investigative personnel." He also added, "It does not seem necessary to restrict the Gong-su-cheo chief to only those with lawyer qualifications."

◆ End of the era of political prosecution; create the last bastion to prevent high-level corruption = Attorney No said, "Gong-su-cheo is established to prevent the harm caused by the overgrowth of prosecutorial power," pointing out, "The overgrowth of prosecutorial power was not due to the prosecution system itself, but because it was not independent from political forces and its members reigned as unchecked power for a long time."

He said, "Gong-su-cheo must not repeat the mistakes of the past prosecution," and addressed the Gong-su-cheo chief, "I hope you operate Gong-su-cheo with a historical sense of mission so that the Republic of Korea can develop as a rule-of-law country, a human rights country, and a democratic country, ending the era of political prosecution and building public trust in the judiciary."

He further urged, "Whether in power or opposition, and the people as well, let us now create at least one clean and fair last bastion to prevent power-related crimes or corruption among high-ranking officials."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.