The First Head of the Corruption Investigation Office: "There Are Followers of Truth, and Justice and Fairness Will Surely Be Achieved"

Kim Jin-wook, the first Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the afternoon of the 21st. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy, Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Kim Jin-wook, the inaugural Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), took office on the 21st and immediately began his duties. At the launch ceremony held that day, he said, "As I take on this path that no one has walked before, I intend to walk this path from the perspective of the people, communicating with them and walking together with them, and I aim to return the authority granted to the CIO by the sovereign people back to the people themselves."

The following is the full text of his inaugural address delivered that day.

Respected citizens and fellow staff members! It has been almost a year of suffering due to COVID-19, and I understand how difficult it has been for you all. As a member of the people, I earnestly hope that we will soon be liberated from the COVID environment and that warm spring days will come so we can regain our precious daily lives.

Today is the day I receive my appointment as the first Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials of the Republic of Korea, and the day the CIO is launched. First, I sincerely thank the citizens who have shown interest and support so that the CIO could take its first step today. I also sincerely thank Nam Ki-myung, the head of the CIO establishment preparation team, and all the staff who worked hard to lay the human and material foundations for the CIO’s launch. Furthermore, I sincerely thank the officials from the Prime Minister’s Office who spared no support to ensure the smooth conclusion of the confirmation hearing.

Respected citizens! I stand here today feeling a heavy responsibility before the historic task of our era?the successful establishment of the CIO. Looking back, since the Anti-Corruption Act was first proposed in the 15th National Assembly in 1996, after repeated discussions, it was finalized and passed as the CIO Act by consensus among the four ruling and opposition parties in the 20th National Assembly at the end of 2019.

Subsequently, in the 21st National Assembly, through the recommendation of the CIO chief candidate and the president’s appointment procedure, we have begun this historic journey today. As the inaugural CIO chief who starts the history of the CIO, I expressed to the people that I feel an immense responsibility and that since the CIO’s authority is granted by the people, I will carefully consider ways to return this authority to the people. I would like to elaborate further on this point.

Respected citizens! If the authority of the CIO is granted by the sovereign people, then the CIO, which holds this authority, must always remember and reflect on this fact when exercising its powers. I call this reflective exercise of authority. Reflective exercise means that the CIO will always humbly restrain itself when exercising its authority before the people who entrusted it. Before making important decisions such as investigation and prosecution, it will always reconsider whether these decisions meet the people’s expectations, comply with the Constitution, laws, and conscience. And it will never become an arrogant power before the sovereign people.

I believe that if the CIO exercises its authority reflectively, it will naturally become a people-friendly and human rights-friendly state institution, thereby gaining the hearts and trust of the people. I am also confident that through this, the CIO will firmly take root within our constitutional order.

Respected citizens! For the CIO to establish itself as a "human rights-friendly investigative agency trusted by the people," it must be born as an investigative agency that practices fair investigations, which the people desire. To this end, it must first thoroughly maintain political neutrality and independence and practice fair investigations by investigating high-ranking officials’ corruption without any sanctuary.

The fairness of investigations, political neutrality, and independence must be united like the three wheels of a tricycle to move forward. The CIO Act defines the CIO as an independent investigative agency and prohibits any external institution from interfering with the CIO’s duties to guarantee this independence.

It also requires all members of the CIO, including the chief, to observe political neutrality and independence in their duties. This independence and political neutrality of the CIO will be the foundation for fair investigations into high-ranking officials’ corruption without sanctuary.

I believe that only investigations and prosecutions that uphold equality before the law and the rule of law?where no one stands above the law?and maintain political neutrality by siding neither with the ruling party nor the opposition but solely with the people can earn the trust of the people. Just as the goddess of justice holds a sword in one hand and scales in the other, blindfolded, using the sword entrusted by the people fairly and justly without discrimination, the CIO must become such a state institution that the people will wholeheartedly accept.

Next, while adhering to the constitutional principle of due process and conducting human rights-friendly investigations, the CIO will cooperate with other investigative agencies where necessary and maintain a relationship of mutual checks and balances where needed. The principles of the rule of law and due process, proclaimed by our Constitution, are fundamental constitutional principles protecting the people’s basic rights from all state power. While striving to discover substantive truth, the CIO will make it a principle to conduct dignified and restrained investigations that do not excessively infringe on human rights, based on due process and the presumption of innocence.

I understand that some fear that the newly launched CIO might conflict with existing investigative agencies and that the country’s anti-corruption investigative capabilities might decline. However, I am confident that if the newly launched CIO, prosecution, and police cooperate where necessary and check each other where needed, they will form a symbiotic relationship of healthy competition to protect the people’s basic rights.

Finally, we will establish fair and transparent recruitment procedures and create a horizontal organizational culture that encourages free communication. Past flawed investigative practices that prioritized only investigation results may have partly contributed to a closed and rigid organizational culture. By recruiting talented individuals with diverse careers and backgrounds through fair and transparent procedures, we will make the CIO a vibrant organization where people want to work. Also, through transparent interview procedures involving external members, we will select prosecutors, investigators, and staff who possess a sense of mission, ability, and qualifications regardless of their origin or background.

At the same time, we will create an organizational structure that ensures checks and balances internally, operate fair investigative procedures, and implement a horizontal organizational culture for free internal communication. If such diversity, transparency, and an open, communicative organizational culture are established, concerns about excessive concentration of authority in the chief will naturally be dispelled.

Respected citizens! There is a saying that "well begun is half done." Although the launch of the CIO has been delayed, I believe that the small first step taken today can be a great stride toward the right history of our homeland, the Republic of Korea.

The journey the CIO begins today is a path never before taken in our constitutional history. Even if many trials, errors, and difficulties await on this path, I believe that if we demonstrate the wisdom and courage of Koreans who have endured and overcome 5,000 years of hardship, it will be a shortcut to the goal we all desire: a free, equal, and fair society.

I intend to take on this path that no one has walked before, from the perspective of the people, communicating with them and walking together with them. By doing so, I aim to return the authority granted to the CIO by the sovereign people of the Republic of Korea back to the people. Furthermore, I am confident that this path is the one on which the CIO, launched today, will establish itself as a "human rights-friendly investigative agency trusted by the people." I would like to state that all members of the CIO, including myself, will serve the entire Korean people and be accountable to them in accordance with Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, and I ask for your continued support and encouragement.

Finally, I would like to conclude with the words of Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, whom I have always respected: "Truth always has followers, and there will come a day when justice and fairness are realized." Believing in the sincerity and potential of the Korean people, I am confident that such a good day, the springtime of our history, will come. Thank you very much.

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