Jinwook Kim Presides Over First Personnel Committee Meeting... Investigation Team Formation to Be Completed by 2nd Next Month

"Consideration of Affiliation with Certain Political Groups in Prosecutor Selection"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) announced on the 12th that it plans to complete the formation of the investigation team by the 2nd of next month, starting with prosecutor interviews next week.

On the same day, HOCI held its first Personnel Committee meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon and finalized the schedule to conduct prosecutor interviews from the 17th to the 24th, followed by selecting prosecutor candidates through the second Personnel Committee meeting on the 26th.

Subsequently, interviews for chief prosecutors will be held on the 30th and 31st, and the third Personnel Committee meeting on the 2nd of next month will carry out the selection process for chief prosecutor candidates.

After the meeting, Kim Jin-wook, head of HOCI, explained, "Even the committee members recommended by political parties said that political neutrality and fairness are the most important, and we think so as well."

When asked whether this means they will not select lawyers who have belonged to or are affiliated with organizations with specific political leanings, Kim said, "It's not that, but it will be considered," adding, "We do not quantify political neutrality or include it in the evaluation form."

Kim said, "Reasonable opinions were exchanged, and there were no disputes. It seems that much consensus was reached," indicating that the meeting concluded without major disagreements overall.

The meeting was held privately for about 1 hour and 40 minutes with all seven personnel committee members present, including opposition party appointees Yoo Il-jun and Kim Young-jong, and Lee Young-joo, director of the Human Rights Counseling Center at Seoul National University, appointed by the head of HOCI.

Immediately after the meeting, committee member Lee Young-joo said, "There were no particular disagreements regarding the prosecutor selection criteria," and added, "We agreed to discuss thoroughly to select excellent talents." Committee member Yoo Il-jun also said, "Political neutrality was the fundamental premise," and "It will be discussed in depth at the next meeting."

In his opening remarks, Kim said, "I expect the Personnel Committee to play a supporting role so that outstanding and capable talents can find positions that match their abilities," and added, "I hope that substantial results will be achieved based on the spirit of consensus, which is the purpose of forming the Personnel Committee."

The HOCI Personnel Committee has the authority to evaluate prosecutor applicants selected through the interview process and recommend them to the President with a majority vote.

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