People Power Party Recommended by Im Jeong-hyeok and Lee Heon: "Expecting a Neutral Corruption Investigation Office Not Swayed by the Regime"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] The People Power Party recommended lawyers Lim Jeong-hyeok and Lee Heon as opposition nominees for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) chief candidate recommendation committee, stating that they "will play a significant role in forming a neutral and independent HOCI that is not swayed by the administration."

Kim Seong-won, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, said in a meeting with reporters after submitting the recommendation letter to the National Assembly's Legislative Affairs Office on the morning of the 27th, "We have made a magnanimous decision because we can no longer allow the National Assembly to be driven into a battleground for political strife."

On the same day, the People Power Party submitted a recommendation letter to the National Assembly's Legislative Affairs Office nominating lawyers Lim and Lee as candidates for the HOCI chief recommendation committee. Lawyer Lim is a former deputy chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and was previously recommended as a candidate for the 'Druking Special Prosecutor.' Lawyer Lee served as the chairman of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation and was the vice-chairman of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Committee.

Deputy Floor Leader Kim said, "Despite the ongoing scandals involving the Lime and Optimus cases and other administration-related corruption, the Democratic Party is recklessly pushing to create a HOCI that protects the administration," adding, "The Moon administration and the Democratic Party should immediately stop this political strife, which uses the HOCI as a pretext to overcome a crisis at the administration level, and focus all their efforts on introducing a special prosecutor for Lime and Optimus and on policies addressing the rental housing crisis."

He continued, "We have firmly held the standard that the HOCI chief must maintain political neutrality and fairness regarding crimes by high-ranking officials and be trusted by all citizens, and thus we officially recommended lawyers Lim and Lee as suitable candidates," adding, "Both are highly regarded in the legal community for their integrity and fairness, so they will play a significant role in forming a neutral and independent HOCI that is not influenced by the administration's preferences."

Regarding the criticism that lawyer Lee obstructed the activities of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Committee in the past, he responded, "Lawyer Lee was recommended by our party, and we believe he is a suitable person to recommend as HOCI chief. I do not understand why other parties are making such claims about that matter."

On the Democratic Party's attempt to nullify veto power through legal amendments at a high-level strategy meeting, he said, "Continuous legislative dictatorship is being realized, but the people will not stand idly by."

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