Candidate Recommendation for Head of Corruption Investigation Office Fails... Ruling Party "Pursues Legal Amendment" vs Opposition "Destroys Neutrality"

Recommendation Committee Fails to Reach Conclusion in Final Vote
Ruling Party: "Push to Pass the Amendment to the Corruption Investigation Office Act... Aim to Launch Within This Year"

Jo Jae-yeon, Chairman of the Recommendation Committee for the Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office, is striking the gavel to declare the opening of the 3rd meeting of the Recommendation Committee for the Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Su-wan] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee failed to narrow down the final candidates after three meetings, leading to a deadlock and intensifying conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties.

The Democratic Party of Korea stated that since the recommendation by consensus was thwarted due to the opposition People Power Party's resistance, they plan to pass amendments to the HOCI Act and launch the HOCI within this year.

On the other hand, the People Power Party criticized the decision by the majority of recommendation committee members to end the HOCI Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee's activities as an act of destroying the rule of law and insisted that the committee meetings should continue.

Choi In-ho, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said in a written statement on the 18th, "The recommendation committee has effectively ended without any progress due to the abuse of minority veto power. We cannot contain our anger beyond disappointment," adding, "In fact, the recommendation by consensus was thwarted due to the People Power Party's opposition."

Choi further stated, "The People Power Party clung only to a strategy to derail the HOCI through consistent delay tactics," and "We hoped to recommend the inaugural HOCI chief with fairness and neutrality through bipartisan agreement, but the People Power Party completely ignored this."

He continued, "The People Power Party will be branded as an outdated party for betraying the public's desire for reform of power institutions," warning, "They will be stigmatized as a party that does not seek fairness and will not be able to avoid the people's punishment."

Choi added, "As the Democratic Party has declared before the people, we will steadfastly proceed with alternative measures," and "The Legislation and Judiciary Committee will take the lead in swiftly advancing alternatives. We will amend the law and ensure the HOCI is launched within this year."

Rep. Choi Hyung-doo of the People Power Party is questioning during the National Assembly inspection of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, and the Cultural Heritage Research Institute held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the morning of the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, Choi Hyung-doo, the People Power Party's floor spokesperson, criticized in a statement on the same day, "A situation occurred where committee members in a legally established organization refused the law," calling it "an act of destroying the rule of law."

Choi pointed out, "Opposition recommendation committee members proposed to continue the meetings, but the conclusion of 'effective termination' means that the administrative body, the HOCI Chief Recommendation Committee, ended its activities on its own," adding, "It is like kicking away a law made by the National Assembly because it was poorly made."

He further criticized, "The voluntary dissolution of the HOCI Recommendation Committee is an act of destroying the rule of law by the Democratic Party of Korea, allowing them to arbitrarily recommend the HOCI chief," and expressed shock that "even the head of the Court Administration Office, who must strictly maintain neutrality under the separation of powers, has become a voluntary tool of the government and ruling party."

Choi urged, "The recommendation committee should resume meetings and repeatedly use the conclave (papal election) method until a neutral and independent HOCI chief candidate emerges," warning, "If they do not immediately return to the committee meetings and stop the shameless collusion with the Moon Jae-in administration and ruling party's destruction of the rule of law, they will face stern judgment from history and the people."

Meanwhile, earlier, Lee Chan-hee, chairman of the Korean Bar Association (KBA) and a member of the HOCI Chief Recommendation Committee, said at a briefing after the meeting, "It is not that we failed to narrow down the candidate pool, but we did not obtain the consent of six members required for recommendation," and apologized, "We are sorry and regretful to the public for not meeting the national expectations for the inaugural HOCI chief."

The recommendation committee continued the verification process for about 4 hours and 30 minutes on 10 preliminary candidates but failed to decide on the final candidate.

During three rounds of voting, Kim Jin-wook, a senior researcher at the Constitutional Court recommended by the KBA and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and Jeon Hyun-jung, a lawyer at the law firm KCL, each received the consent of five out of seven recommendation committee members. However, they failed to secure the required six votes for approval, resulting in the failure of the final recommendation.

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