Today, the 'First Anniversary' of the Corruption Investigation Office, Private Commemorative Event... Only 28 Attendees Including Director Kim Jin-wook and Deputy Director Yeo Woon-guk

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Unit (HOCI) will quietly mark its first anniversary on the 21st.

On this day, HOCI will hold a commemorative event at its office in the Government Complex Gwacheon, attended by only 28 people including the Chief, Deputy Chief, department heads, and prosecutors. The event will be modest, consisting of remarks by Chief Kim Jin-wook and a commemorative photo session, and will not be open to the press or the public.

This is in stark contrast to the grand inauguration ceremony held last year on January 21, which was attended by then National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairman Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and others, featuring a plaque unveiling.

The minimization of the first anniversary event is interpreted as a result of various recent controversies surrounding HOCI.

The 'wiretapping' controversy has spread the most widely. It was revealed that between August and November last year, HOCI extensively collected communication records of domestic and foreign journalists, politicians, legal professionals, as well as their supporters, family members, acquaintances, and ordinary citizens. This has led to criticism labeling it as 'wiretapping.'

The controversies are not limited to wiretapping. HOCI has also been embroiled in debates over the legality of its investigations and search and seizure procedures. Regarding the 'accusation inducement' allegations, Rep. Kim Woong of the People Power Party and Son Joon-sung, Human Rights Protection Officer at Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office, filed a quasi-appeal with the court requesting the cancellation of HOCI’s search and seizure. They argue that the rights of the accused to participate were not properly guaranteed. The court accepted Rep. Kim’s quasi-appeal and canceled the search and seizure, to which HOCI responded by filing a re-appeal. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a final ruling soon.

The case involving the leak of the indictment by Seoul High Prosecutor Lee Sung-yoon is also moving in a similar direction. Prosecutors from the former Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office investigation team, who became subjects of the investigation, have filed a quasi-appeal. They claim that HOCI included prosecutors who were not part of the investigation team at the time as subjects of the investigation and obtained search and seizure warrants by providing false information to the court. If the court accepts their claims, HOCI is expected to face even more criticism.

HOCI has not directly prosecuted a single case, and investigations have been sluggish. Starting with the 'unfair special hiring of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon' as its first case, HOCI numbered cases up to 'Gongje 23' and launched direct investigations. However, it has yet to indict a single person, suffering criticism over its lack of investigative capability.

Investigations into the 'accusation inducement' and 'judge surveillance document creation' allegations, which HOCI devoted significant effort to, have stalled as they cannot even continue questioning the key suspects. Son Joon-sung, the key figure in both allegations, has been unable to be summoned for questioning due to a medical opinion stating he needs up to eight weeks of rest due to deteriorating health. These two cases involve People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl. HOCI is investigating a total of four cases involving candidate Yoon. At present, all investigations are expected to conclude only after the presidential election, indicating a bleak outlook for the investigations.

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