Ruling Party Recommends 'Former Judge', Opposition Proposes 'Former Prosecutor'... Challenges Expected in Selecting Head of Corruption Investigation Office

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] A total of 11 legal professionals have been recommended as candidates for the inaugural head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI). Notably, the ruling party recommended mainly former judges to check the prosecution, while the opposition party recommended mainly former prosecutors to oversee the government, showing a contrast that is expected to complicate the final candidate selection.

According to political circles on the 10th, all parties including the ruling and opposition parties and various institutions completed the first round of candidate recommendations by the deadline the day before. A total of 11 candidates were recommended that day.

First, the ruling party's recommendation committee nominated two former judges, lawyers Jeon Jong-min and Kwon Dong-joo. Lawyer Kwon served as the head of the Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court and is currently a partner lawyer at the law firm Hwawoo. Lawyer Jeon has experience acting as a deputy prosecutor in the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye.

The opposition party recommended four lawyers, Kim Kyung-soo, Kang Chan-woo, Seok Dong-hyun, and Son Ki-ho, all of whom are former prosecutors. Lawyer Kim is with the law firm Yulchon and is a representative special prosecutor who served as the last head of the Central Investigation Department before it was renamed the Anti-Corruption Department. Lawyer Kang is also a special prosecutor who served as head of the Anti-Corruption Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and is currently the representative lawyer at the law firm Pyeongsan.

Lawyer Seok served as chief prosecutor of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and previously applied as a preliminary candidate in Busan for the 20th and 21st general elections. Lawyer Son served as head of the investigation department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and as chief of the Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office.

It is analyzed that the ruling and opposition parties' respective intentions of 'checking the prosecution' and 'overseeing the government' are clearly reflected in the recommendation results.

Additionally, the Korean Bar Association recommended three candidates: Kim Jin-wook, senior researcher at the Constitutional Court; Lee Geon-ri, vice chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission; and Han Myung-kwan, lawyer at the law firm Bareun. Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae recommended Jeon Hyun-jung, a former chief judge and lawyer at the law firm KCL, while Cho Jae-yeon, head of the Court Administration Office, recommended lawyer Choi Woon-sik, who previously led the joint investigation team on savings bank corruption.

The recommendation committee plans to hold a meeting on the 13th to narrow down the final two candidates. However, difficulties are expected in compressing the candidate list as the ruling and opposition parties still hold opposing views on the launch of HOCI.

In particular, lawyer Seok, recommended by the opposition, stated, "Personally, HOCI is a monstrous institution that should never have been born," and added, "Until the law is amended to abolish it, since it realistically exists, I accepted the nomination with the mindset that we must somehow prevent HOCI from becoming a monster."

Meanwhile, the ruling party emphasized the need to promptly hold a confirmation hearing for the HOCI head candidate and continued to pressure the opposition. Choi In-ho, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said on his Facebook that "It will help make a swift decision that the recommendation committee can make a preliminary judgment before the final candidate recommendation scheduled for this Friday (13th)," and added, "Most of the 11 candidates are recognized for their competence in the legal field, so they can be recommended anytime if desired."

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