The Corruption Investigation Office Establishes Case Publicity Guidelines... What Do They Contain?

Government Gwacheon Government Complex High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO, Chief Kim Jin-wook) has established public relations guidelines concerning cases under investigation or prosecution.

On the 21st, the CIO announced the promulgation of the Case Public Relations Guidelines (CIO Directive), which specify the reasons and scope for public relations at each stage of investigation to harmonize the human rights of case-related persons, the presumption of innocence, fairness and efficiency of investigations, and the public's right to know.

The newly promulgated Case Public Relations Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) apply to all cases handled or previously handled by the CIO, regardless of whether they have been registered or prosecuted.

The Guidelines specify the reasons and scope for public relations at each stage of the investigation: ▲ before the conclusion of the investigation ▲ prosecution ▲ request for prosecution ▲ non-prosecution, etc.

First, before the conclusion of the investigation, except for exceptional cases permitted by the Guidelines, it is fundamentally prohibited to disclose or publicize the facts of suspicion or investigation status.

However, even before the conclusion of the investigation, public relations may be exceptionally conducted in cases where ▲ rapid fact verification is necessary due to false reports infringing on the human rights and honor of suspects or other case-related persons or CIO officials ▲ public cooperation is needed to apprehend the perpetrator or discover key evidence ▲ the public's right to know is guaranteed and the Public Relations Deliberation Council has passed a resolution upon media request.

Additionally, if there are false reports that hinder the investigation or infringe on the human rights and honor of case-related persons or CIO officials, public relations may be conducted to correct them. However, in such cases, the scope of public relations should be limited to passively clarifying that the reported content is not factual.

On the other hand, for cases where the CIO prosecutor has filed a prosecution, it is mandatory to publicize ▲ the defendant ▲ the charge ▲ the date and method of prosecution ▲ the summary of the prosecution facts ▲ and the investigation results.

For cases where the CIO prosecutor has requested prosecution to the prosecution office, only important cases already disclosed to the media and widely known to the public will have public relations conducted, including ▲ the suspect ▲ the charge ▲ the summary of the suspicion ▲ and the date of referral to the prosecution.

For other cases (such as non-prosecution) excluding those directly prosecuted by the CIO or requested for prosecution to the prosecution office, public relations will be conducted only if ▲ the case has been disclosed to the media and widely known to the public ▲ the suspect or person under investigation requests and the Public Relations Deliberation Council passes a resolution ▲ public relations are conducted simultaneously with prosecution or prosecution request of related cases. The scope of public relations is limited to ▲ the suspect or person under investigation ▲ the charge ▲ the date and order of the decision ▲ the summary of suspicion, reasons for non-prosecution, reasons for referral ▲ and other matters approved by the Public Relations Deliberation Council to guarantee the public's right to know and upon media request.

The Guidelines allow case-related persons or their lawyers who have suffered damage due to false reports infringing on their human rights and honor to request public relations through a public relations request form submitted to the CIO Chief.

When conducting public relations, the anonymity of case-related persons or related companies is the principle; however, exceptions may be made to disclose real names and specific positions when necessary to prevent false reports or guarantee the public's right to know.

Meanwhile, the public relations work will be exclusively handled by the CIO spokesperson. However, in exceptional cases, the Chief may directly disclose cases, or CIO prosecutors or investigators may be responsible for public relations.

The method of public relations is principally through the distribution of written press releases, but in exceptional cases such as rapid response to false reports, electronic mail or text messages may be used, and oral supplementary explanations are allowed within the scope of the distributed press releases.

Search and seizure warrants related to cases, communication restriction approval documents, communication fact confirmation data provision approval documents, arrest and detention warrants and their requests, and indictments or non-prosecution decisions are prohibited from being disclosed through inspection or copy provision except in cases permitted by law.

The newly established Guidelines also include provisions to protect case-related persons.

First, information about the attendance of case-related persons is fundamentally prohibited from being disclosed. Also, requests for filming, recording, or live broadcasting by the media or third parties during attendance, investigation, search and seizure, arrest, or detention are not allowed.

However, in important cases already widely known to the public through media reports, attendance and related situations may be disclosed in advance with the consent of the suspect.

CIO prosecutors may restrict filming, broadcasting, or recording to protect the portrait rights of case-related persons during the investigation process.

However, in important cases expected to attract concentrated media coverage, prior consultation with the suspect or witness regarding attendance date, method, etc., is allowed, and if requested by the suspect or witness, measures such as installing a photo line may be taken to prevent confusion and maintain order during media coverage.

If there are false reports infringing on the honor of case-related persons or CIO officials that require correction of facts, the spokesperson may request a correction report or a rebuttal report.

The Public Relations Deliberation Council, which deliberates on whether to conduct public relations and the scope thereof, is composed of up to 15 members including one chairman, with the majority appointed as civilian members. The chairman is designated by the Chief from among the civilian members.

The CIO stated, "Based on reflection on public relations by investigative agencies, such as securing investigative momentum through disclosure of suspicion facts and media trials, we will strive to conduct public relations based on the presumption of innocence principle, and considering the public's desire to eradicate corruption among high-ranking officials, we will also sufficiently secure the public's right to know."

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