One Day Left for the Formation of the Public Corruption Investigation Office Personnel Committee... Prosecutor Interviews to Begin Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The possibility of further delays in forming the Personnel Committee of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (PCC) is being raised again. The opposition party has still not recommended its members, even after a previous postponement. However, separate from the formation of the Personnel Committee, prosecutor interviews are scheduled to begin next month, and tasks such as case acceptance and transfer are proceeding normally.

Earlier, on the 17th, the PCC officially requested the opposition party to submit their recommendations for the Personnel Committee by the 28th. The Personnel Committee consists of seven members: the Chief, the Deputy Chief, two members recommended by the ruling party and two by the opposition party, and external members appointed by the Chief. The Democratic Party of Korea recommended lawyers Na Giju and Oh Youngjung on the 10th. However, the People Power Party has not made recommendations, stating that the Democratic Party should first proceed with recommending the Blue House Special Inspector and the North Korean Human Rights Foundation directors before nominating Personnel Committee members.

However, Article 9, Paragraph 6 of the PCC Act states that "matters necessary for the composition and operation of the Personnel Committee shall be determined by the PCC regulations." The "PCC Prosecutor Personnel Regulations" also state that "recommendations for Personnel Committee members may be requested in writing, and each negotiation group must recommend members within the requested deadline." Therefore, it is not impossible to form the Personnel Committee without the People Power Party's nominees.

Chief Kim Jinwook also responded during last month's parliamentary confirmation hearing to the question, "If the opposition party delays recommending Personnel Committee members, will you proceed with only five members?" by saying, "I naturally expect cooperation from the opposition members, so there is no reason to force it."

Moreover, Chief Kim directly mentioned the possibility of independently operating the Personnel Committee. On the 17th, he said, "(Independent operation) cannot be ruled out," but added, "It is right to uphold the spirit of bipartisan agreement." He further stated, "After all, the law stipulates that both parties recommend two Personnel Committee members each as a matter of agreement," but this implies that a decision from Chief Kim may be required by the end of this month.

The personnel composition process is proceeding as planned. Applications for prosecutor and investigator recruitment closed with a high competition ratio of about 10 to 1. For the recruitment of 25 public service positions such as administrative assistants, drivers, and security personnel, 488 applicants applied, reportedly causing a delay in the announcement of document screening results.

In particular, document screening for prosecutor applicants has been completed, and interviews will be conducted starting next month. Chief Kim said, "Prosecutor interviews are expected to begin as early as the end of this month or early next month," adding, "Due to the large number of candidates, interviews will likely extend into next month, but we will expedite the process as much as possible."

Meanwhile, the PCC has accepted a total of 371 cases since its launch. Among these, six cases with imminent statute of limitations were transferred to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. According to the PCC Act, the Chief may transfer cases to other investigative agencies if it is deemed appropriate considering the suspect, victim, and the nature and scale of the case.

Currently, at the PCC, Chief Kim, Deputy Chief Yeo Woon-guk, two prosecutors, and ten prosecutors dispatched from the prosecution are handling case acceptance and transfers. The PCC received 305 complaints and accusations within one month of its launch on the 21st.