Yeoun-guk: "Investigation of High-Ranking Officials' Corruption Without Sanctuary"... Accelerating Formation of Investigation Team

Official Work Begins on Day 1... Amid Concerns of Biased Personnel, "We Will Pursue Fair Personnel and Case Handling"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Yeowoon-guk, Deputy Chief of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo), stated, "We will thoroughly maintain political neutrality and independence and investigate corruption among high-ranking officials without any sanctuary." In response to concerns about politically biased prosecutor appointments, he promised transparent and fair case handling and personnel management. Having finalized the appointments of the inaugural Chief and Deputy Chief, Gong-su-cheo will begin full-scale recruitment of prosecutors and investigators this week.

On the 1st, Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk said at the inauguration ceremony held at the Government Complex Gwacheon, "We will comply with the constitutional principle of due process and conduct human rights-friendly investigations," adding, "To guarantee the basic rights of the people, we will cooperate with other investigative agencies while establishing a mutually beneficial competitive relationship." Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk officially began his duties on this day after President Moon Jae-in approved his appointment on the 29th.

With Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk joining, Gong-su-cheo is accelerating its organizational setup. First, Chief Kim Jin-wook is expected to start forming the Personnel Committee together with Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk. When asked by reporters about the timing of the Personnel Committee's formation, Chief Kim replied, "It will be done within today or tomorrow," and added, "Recommendations for committee members will also begin this week."

The Personnel Committee will consist of seven members: Chief Kim, Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk, one external expert appointed by the Chief, and two members recommended by each of the ruling and opposition parties. The committee will recommend 23 prosecutors (4 senior prosecutors and 19 regular prosecutors) to the President, who holds the appointment authority.

Accordingly, Chief Kim and Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk plan to soon send an official letter to the National Assembly requesting the formation of the remaining four members after appointing one external expert representing Gong-su-cheo. Considering that applications for senior and regular prosecutors will be accepted from the 2nd to the 4th, and investigator applications from the 3rd to the 5th, Gong-su-cheo plans to have the Personnel Committee review the documents starting next week.

The variable is the cooperation of the opposition party. Chief Kim estimated that it would take 7 to 8 weeks for Gong-su-cheo to become fully operational, assuming the Personnel Committee is formed quickly. However, if the opposition delays recommending committee members or opposes prosecutor appointments after the committee is formed, the operational timeline will be delayed. Although Gong-su-cheo and the ruling party could push forward with prosecutor appointments, Chief Kim is expected to seek cooperation from the opposition, as he mentioned he would not be biased toward either side.

Deputy Chief Yeowoon-guk, seemingly aware of concerns about politically biased prosecutor appointments, explained, "To ensure fairness and transparency in prosecutor selection, we will conduct a first stage of document screening and interviews, followed by a second stage where the Personnel Committee, including members recommended by both ruling and opposition parties, will oversee a fair selection process."

Internally, Gong-su-cheo has also begun the task of selecting the investigation cases it will handle. Representative cases include the private organization surveillance issue arising from the obstruction of the audit on Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, suspicions of North Korea's nuclear power plant establishment efforts, allegations of illegal travel bans on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, and the Ulsan whale meat refund case.

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