President Moon Requests Recommendation for Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office... Official Letter to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 26th, the Blue House announced that President Moon Jae-in sent an official letter to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok on the 24th, requesting the recommendation of candidates for the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo).

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, held a briefing at the press center in the afternoon and said, "According to the Gong-su-cheo Act, the National Assembly must form a candidate recommendation committee for the head of Gong-su-cheo and recommend two candidates to the president. The president then nominates one of them, and after a confirmation hearing, must appoint the candidate by July 15."

The Act on the Establishment and Operation of Gong-su-cheo, enacted on January 14, is set to take effect on the 15th of next month. The Blue House's mention of the appointment deadline as 'by July 15' appears to be aimed at launching Gong-su-cheo on schedule in line with the law's enforcement date.

However, considering that the 21st National Assembly has yet to even organize its leadership, difficulties are expected starting from the formation of the candidate recommendation committee for the head of Gong-su-cheo. The committee is to be composed of seven members appointed or commissioned by the Speaker of the National Assembly: the Minister of Justice, the Chief of the Court Administration, the President of the Korean Bar Association, two members recommended by the ruling party's negotiation group, and two members recommended by the opposition party's negotiation group. Furthermore, decisions require the approval of six out of the seven members, so if the two opposition party recommended members are not appointed, it will be impossible to recommend candidates for the head of Gong-su-cheo.

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