Korean Bar Association Recommends Kim Jin-wook, Lee Geon-ri, and Han Myung-kwan as Initial Candidates for First Public Corruption Investigation Office Chief... First Round of Candidate Recommendations Closes Today

Lee Chan-hee, President of the Korean Bar Association, is announcing the first candidate for the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials recommended by the Bar Association on the morning of the 9th at the Korean Bar Association's main conference room in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. Photo by Choi Seok-jin

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Korean Bar Association (President Lee Chan-hee) recommended three candidates to serve as the inaugural Chief of the newly established High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HCIO) for a three-year term on the 9th: Kim Jin-wook, a former judge and senior researcher at the Constitutional Court (age 54, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 21); Lee Geon-ri, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Division at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, formerly a prosecutor (age 57, class 16); and Han Myung-kwan, former Chief Prosecutor (age 61, class 15).

As the HCIO Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee (Recommendation Committee) is scheduled to conclude the first round of candidate recommendations on this day, attention is focused on the candidates recommended by the Bar Association, since other recommending members?including the Minister of Justice and members appointed by both ruling and opposition parties?are likely to exercise veto power against each other's candidates.

The Bar Association held a meeting on the 14th floor of its building in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the same day and recommended these three individuals as candidates for HCIO Chief.

President Lee Chan-hee stated, "We prioritized political neutrality and independence, investigative ability, and a sense of justice as the essential qualities for the HCIO Chief."

First, Kim Jin-wook, a former judge, graduated from Boseong High School and Seoul National University with a degree in Archaeology, then earned a master's degree from Seoul National University Graduate School of Law and completed an LLM program at Harvard Law School in the United States. After passing the bar exam in 1989, he served as a military legal officer in the Air Force and worked as a judge at the Northern Branch of the Seoul District Court and the Seoul District Court.

He later worked as a lawyer at Kim & Chang Law Firm and was dispatched as a special prosecutor in the 1999 "Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation strike inducement case." In 2010, he was appointed as a constitutional researcher at the Constitutional Court, served as the secretary to the Chief Justice, and currently holds concurrent positions as senior constitutional researcher and international deliberation officer.

Lee Geon-ri graduated from Jeonju High School and Seoul National University College of Law and completed graduate studies at Yonsei University Law School. He has served as a prosecutor, chief prosecutor, deputy chief prosecutor, and chief prosecutor over 24 years. After opening a law practice, he served as chairman of the Ministry of National Defense's 5.18 Democratization Movement Special Investigation Committee and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Division at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Han Myung-kwan graduated from Seongdong High School and Seoul National University College of Law and completed graduate studies at Seoul National University. He also completed the International Department at the French National School for the Judiciary. He served as a prosecutor for 25 years, reaching the position of chief prosecutor. After retirement, he worked as a lawyer at Barun Law Firm and held positions such as professor at Sejong University Law Department, president of the Korean Criminal Procedure Law Association, and president of the 4th Industrial Revolution Convergence Law Association.

Meanwhile, the Recommendation Committee plans to finalize the first round of HCIO Chief candidate recommendations by 6 p.m. on the same day by collecting candidates who have obtained the consent of the individuals from each recommending member, and will hold a second meeting on the 13th to formally review the candidates.

The committee confirmed this schedule at its first meeting held at the National Assembly on the 30th of last month and decided that each of the seven members would recommend up to five candidates for HCIO Chief by this day.

However, due to stringent qualification requirements such as 15 years of legal experience and refusals by candidates themselves, both ruling and opposition parties have faced difficulties in selecting candidates. Ultimately, it is reported that each side decided to recommend about two to three candidates, so the total candidate pool is expected to be around 15 to 20.

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and the recommending members appointed by both ruling and opposition parties will not disclose the list of recommended HCIO Chief candidates on this day but will submit it to the Recommendation Committee.

After practical work, the Recommendation Committee may decide on the final two recommended candidates at the second meeting scheduled for the 13th. However, according to the HCIO Act, which requires approval by at least six of the seven committee members, if only two members oppose, the candidate cannot be finalized. Therefore, if there is difficulty in reaching consensus between ruling and opposition parties, the final candidate selection may be delayed.

Once the Recommendation Committee recommends two candidates, the President will appoint one of them after a confirmation hearing to become the HCIO Chief. The term of office is three years, with a mandatory retirement age of 65, and reappointment is prohibited, allowing only a single term.

The key issue is whether the Recommendation Committee can find a neutral candidate trusted by the ruling party and not opposed by the opposition party.

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