Kim Jin-wook, Head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, Says "I Will Announce My Position After Tomorrow's Constitutional Court Decision"
Kim Jin-wook, the first Chief of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency, is taking the oath 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 Seok-jin] The possibility of the ‘illegal travel ban’ case involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui being transferred to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) is increasing, which is expected to put a brake on the prosecution’s investigation.
If this case, which involves a large number of pro-government figures such as former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki, Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, Director Cha Gyu-geun of the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters, Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Sung-yoon, and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Lee Jong-geun, becomes the first investigation target of HOCI, controversy over HOCI’s political neutrality is expected to intensify.
On the 27th, HOCI Chief Kim Jin-wook, when asked by reporters about the transfer of this case to HOCI, said, “According to Article 24 of the HOCI Act, when both HOCI and other investigative agencies have investigative authority, if it is judged that it is appropriate for HOCI to conduct the investigation in light of the progress and fairness controversies, a transfer request can be made,” adding, “Tomorrow, when the Constitutional Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the contentious provisions of the HOCI Act, including this article, is announced, we will further investigate the facts and provide our position.”
At the confirmation hearing of Ministerial nominee Park Beom-gye held two days ago at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, ruling party lawmakers emphasized the necessity of transferring this case to HOCI based on the HOCI Act, to which Chief Kim expressed a positive review.
Park, the nominee, also stated at the confirmation hearing on the 25th, “According to the HOCI Act, it would be appropriate to transfer the case to HOCI in the current situation.” The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, which received the public interest report, also announced the day before through a press release that it had “begun reviewing whether to request an investigation by HOCI.”
Although it is expected to take at least two months for HOCI to complete the organizational setup necessary for full-scale investigation, the possibility of this case being transferred to HOCI at an early stage has increased.
Originally, the contents of the two public interest reports were very specific, and regarding the fact that Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, who was dispatched to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Past Affairs Investigation Team in March 2019, used a fake case number when requesting an emergency travel ban on former Deputy Minister Kim, neither the Ministry of Justice nor Prosecutor Lee has denied this, so it was expected that there would be no major problems in proving the prosecution’s charges of falsifying official documents and abuse of authority.
Attention has been focused on whether judicial action will be taken against the ‘higher-ups’ involved in this illegal travel ban, which was carried out immediately after President Moon Jae-in’s order for a “thorough fact-finding.”
The Criminal Division 3 of Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop), which is investigating this case, accelerated the investigation by raiding the Anti-Corruption and Violence Division of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office targeting Prosecutor Lee the day before.
However, if Chief Kim requests the transfer of the case to HOCI, the prosecution will have no choice but to comply according to legal regulations, which could immediately reduce the momentum of the prosecution’s investigation.
There is also a possibility that any consultations between nominee Park, who will soon be appointed minister, and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl regarding the investigation of this case could influence the decision on whether to transfer the case to HOCI.
Earlier, at the confirmation hearing, nominee Park said about this case, “Isn’t the essence a question of procedural justice or substantive justice?” and added, “Can I or the public be convinced why this case should be used as a model of procedural justice as claimed by the prosecution?”
Even if there was a legal violation during the emergency travel ban process, it can be seen that the necessity to prevent former Deputy Minister Kim’s departure at that time was greater, which suggests a skeptical stance toward the prosecution’s investigation.
If the case is transferred to HOCI, the scope of the investigation may expand to include the whistleblower’s leak of investigation secrets and the masterminds who provided information enabling former Deputy Minister Kim to flee abroad, as claimed by the ruling party and the Ministry of Justice.
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