Nomination Committee Member Lee Heon for the Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office: "The Chief of the Court Administration Office and the President of the Bar Association Lead the Push for Speed"

On the morning of the 30th of last month, at the reception room of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Lawyer Lee Heon (right) received a letter of appointment from National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok during the appointment ceremony for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee members, and they are taking a commemorative photo together.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Lee Heon, a lawyer and a candidate recommendation committee member for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (PCC) recommended by the opposition party, revealed that at the second meeting of the PCC Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee (Recommendation Committee) held on the 13th, a fierce debate broke out between the opposition-recommended members and the committee chairman, Cho Jae-yeon, head of the Court Administration Office, and Lee Chan-hee, president of the Korean Bar Association, who pushed for a swift narrowing down of candidates.

Lee also clarified that the reason the Recommendation Committee did not finalize the candidates and scheduled a third meeting on the 18th was due to the opposition-recommended members’ cautious judgment that reviewing only the submitted materials was insufficient for candidate verification, emphasizing that it was not a case of ‘deliberate delay tactics.’

On the 16th, Lee sent a message to reporters stating, “At the second meeting of the PCC Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee on the 13th, there was a heated debate between those advocating for speed and those advocating for caution. It was decided to receive written explanations and related materials from the candidates for review, and the meeting was continued to the third session on the 18th,” adding, “There is no room to consider this as intentional delay tactics.”

Lee explained, “However, those leading the push for speed were not the ruling party’s recommendation members, including the Minister of Justice, but rather the head of the Court Administration Office and the president of the Bar Association,” and reported that “They strongly argued, citing the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee precedent, that candidates should be narrowed down on the same day, leading to a fierce debate with the opposition-recommended members.”

He further stated, “However, based on the opposition-recommended members’ logic that the Recommendation Committee holds a position similar to the Supreme Court Chief Justice’s recommendation of Supreme Court Justices, it was decided to set the next meeting schedule because the materials received the day before and on the day were insufficient to decide on the candidates’ suitability and recommendation.”

He added, “The opposition-recommended members’ cautious stance firmly rejects hasty, secretive, and opaque evaluations in the recommendation of PCC Chief candidates, which the public either worries about or expects,” and noted, “Today, through the National Assembly’s practical support group, additional written inquiries and requests regarding candidates’ income such as salaries, case acceptance records, and media reports were sent.”

The second meeting of the Recommendation Committee, held on the 13th in the National Assembly Special Committee meeting room, started at 10 a.m. and continued until 6:40 p.m., but ultimately failed to narrow down the final two candidates.

At that time, the committee discussed the disqualification of some candidates but decided to continue discussions at the third meeting without excluding any of the 10 candidates or recommending additional candidates.

According to the PCC Act, once the Recommendation Committee recommends two candidates, the President nominates one of them, who is then appointed as the PCC Chief after a confirmation hearing.

The 10 candidates under review are lawyers Jeon Hyeon-jeong (recommended by the Minister of Justice), Choi Un-sik (recommended by the head of the Court Administration Office), Kim Jin-wook, Lee Geon-ri, Han Myeong-gwan (recommended by the president of the Korean Bar Association), Kwon Dong-ju, Jeon Jong-min (recommended by ruling party recommendation members), and Kang Chan-woo, Kim Kyung-soo, Seok Dong-hyun (recommended by opposition recommendation members).

Since the final candidate decision requires the approval of 6 out of 7 committee members, if the two opposition-recommended members veto, it becomes difficult to finalize the candidates.

Therefore, it is highly anticipated that candidates recommended by the president of the Bar Association or the head of the Court Administration Office are more likely to be included in the final two than those recommended by the ruling or opposition party recommendation members or the Minister of Justice.

Particularly noteworthy is the point where Lee revealed that the head of the Court Administration Office, Cho Jae-yeon, who chairs the Recommendation Committee, and Lee Chan-hee, president of the Korean Bar Association, took the lead in advocating the ‘speed theory,’ which can be seen as the government or ruling party’s position.

The Recommendation Committee consists of four members recommended equally by the ruling and opposition parties, and Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is also classified as a ruling party member. Meanwhile, Cho and Lee have been regarded as relatively neutral figures.

However, according to Lee, under the administration of Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, appointed by President Moon Jae-in, both Cho, head of the Court Administration Office, and Lee, president of the Bar Association, appear to align more with the ruling party recommendation members than the opposition, effectively placing the opposition-recommended members in a ‘tilted playing field’ with a 5 to 2 numerical disadvantage, where they must filter out candidates opposed by the opposition.

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