Yong Hye-in Proposes Amendment to Include Power-Based Sexual Crimes in the Corruption Investigation Office Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Yong Hyein, a member of the Basic Income Party, has proposed a revision bill to explicitly include power-based sexual crimes among the crimes subject to investigation by the current High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gong-su-cheo).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the National Assembly's legislative information system on the 13th, Representative Yong submitted a partial amendment bill to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Gong-su-cheo the day before, containing this content. In the purpose of the bill, he explained, "The current law stipulates the crimes of high-ranking officials subject to investigation and prosecution by the Gong-su-cheo, but power-based sexual crimes are excluded."

The current Gong-su-cheo Act does not mention sexual crimes among the crimes of high-ranking officials. Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the Gong-su-cheo Act limits the crimes to those committed in violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Special Act), the Political Funds Act, the National Intelligence Service Act, the Act on Testimony and Inspection in the National Assembly, and the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. Representative Yong argues that if power-based sexual crimes are not explicitly stated in the bill, there is a high possibility that they will be used as an excuse to evade responsibility at any time, so they must be included among the crimes subject to investigation.

In a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, he said, "Since the scope of investigation is clearly defined in the Gong-su-cheo Act, it is practically difficult to investigate crimes not specified in the regulations," and added, "I hope that when discussions on amending the Gong-su-cheo Act become active during the regular National Assembly session, this issue will also be addressed."

Similar criticisms have been consistently made. At a confirmation hearing in July, Kim Changryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, responded to a point made by Oh Younghoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, that "the Gong-su-cheo should investigate sexual crimes of high-ranking officials," by saying, "I think it would be acceptable to include crimes committed by force."

Representative Yong’s side held a related press conference in July and prepared to submit the bill but failed to gather the minimum required number of 10 co-sponsors. After personally sending three letters to lawmakers, he succeeded in submitting the bill. This amendment bill includes members from various parties such as the Democratic Party, Open Democratic Party, Justice Party, and Transition Korea.

The Basic Income Party is also preparing a bill to punish sexual crimes committed by high-ranking public officials of grade 4 or higher. Kim Junho, spokesperson for the Basic Income Party, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "Even if grade 4 or higher political appointees commit sexual crimes, the matter ends once they are removed from their position, so subsequent investigation and punishment are not properly carried out. We are preparing a bill that can punish this as well, aiming to submit it within this year."

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