Cho Jae-yeon Appointed as Chair of the Corruption Investigation Office Candidate Recommendation Committee... Candidates to Be Proposed by the 9th of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee held its first meeting on the 30th and elected Cho Jae-yeon, Director of the Court Administration Office, as the chairman.

The appointment ceremony for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) chief candidate recommendation committee was held on the 30th at the National Assembly reception room. Attending the event, Professor Kim Jong-cheol of Yonsei University Law School (from left), Lee Chan-hee, President of the Korean Bar Association, Cho Jae-yeon, Director of the Court Administration Office, Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, lawyer Lim Jeong-hyeok, lawyer Park Gyeong-jun, and lawyer Lee Heon are posing for a photo. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, presented appointment letters to the seven candidate recommendation committee members at the National Assembly in the morning and then held the first meeting. Among the seven recommendation committee members, three are ex officio: Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice; Cho Jae-yeon, Director of the Court Administration Office; and Lee Chan-hee, President of the Korean Bar Association. The remaining four members were recommended by the ruling and opposition negotiation groups, two each. The Democratic Party appointed Kim Jong-cheol, a professor at Yonsei University, and lawyer Park Kyung-jun, while the People Power Party appointed lawyers Lee Heon and Lim Jeong-hyeok.

At the meeting, Speaker Park said, “Since the Candidate Recommendation Committee is being launched past the statutory deadline, I hope it will recommend a candidate for HCIA chief who can fulfill the era’s mission of prosecutorial reform and eradication of corruption through sincere and diligent performance of duties.”

The committee then discussed the election of the chairman and the method and deadline for presenting candidates during the first meeting. Director Cho, elected as chairman, said, “I feel a heavy responsibility as chairman and will do my best to ensure the committee proceeds productively and smoothly.” Since there are voices emphasizing political neutrality for the chairman position, Director Cho and President Lee had been considered as ex officio appointees.

The committee decided to present candidates with the prior consent of the individuals by 6 p.m. on the 9th of next month. Each member can propose up to five candidates. Subsequently, the second meeting will be held on the 13th of next month to verify and review the proposed candidates.

The committee must recommend two HCIA chief candidates to the president with the consent of at least six of the seven members. The president will designate one of them, who will then be appointed as HCIA chief after a National Assembly confirmation hearing.

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