[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) has included the exercise of the HCIA chief's authority to request transfer to other investigative agencies as a subject for review by the Investigation Deliberation Committee.
Earlier, in March, the HCIA stated during a meeting with the Presidential Transition Committee that it would strengthen internal controls by having requests for transfer reviewed by an Investigation Deliberation Committee composed of external members. The agency has now institutionalized this procedure by revising its internal guidelines.
On the 4th, the HCIA announced that it had revised the operating guidelines for the Investigation Deliberation Committee accordingly and implemented them starting from the 30th of last month.
Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the HCIA Act (Relations with Other Investigative Agencies) stipulates, "If the chief of the HCIA judges that it is appropriate for the HCIA to investigate a crime overlapping with that of another investigative agency, considering the progress and fairness of the investigation, and requests transfer, the relevant investigative agency shall comply."
This clause mandates that even if other investigative agencies such as the police or prosecution are already investigating a case, they must transfer the case upon the HCIA chief's request. It has been regarded as a representative problematic provision in the HCIA Act due to concerns that the HCIA chief could arbitrarily exercise the transfer request authority in politically sensitive cases.
There have been considerable calls from the ruling party and some legal circles to abolish this provision to allow joint investigations by the HCIA and other investigative agencies. However, the HCIA has decided to maintain the chief's transfer request authority while establishing a preemptive internal control mechanism through review by the Investigation Deliberation Committee. Previously, HCIA Chief Kim Jin-wook also mentioned the establishment of control measures over the transfer request authority during a press briefing held in May.
The HCIA stated, "The revised operating guidelines for the Investigation Deliberation Committee newly establish Article 2, Clause 3-2, which explicitly includes 'whether to exercise the transfer request authority under Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the HCIA Act' as a subject for the committee's review. This strengthens internal control procedures by requiring, barring special circumstances, that transfer requests undergo the committee's review to ensure the chief exercises the transfer request authority prudently."
However, Article 2 (Establishment and Functions of the Investigation Deliberation Committee) of the guidelines states, "The HCIA shall establish the Investigation Deliberation Committee to deliberate on matters that the chief of the HCIA deems necessary to submit to the committee." Since the chief can decide whether to submit matters to the committee, the structure still allows the chief to exercise the transfer request authority to the police or prosecution without going through the Investigation Deliberation Committee if desired.
Therefore, critics who have long advocated for the abolition of the transfer request authority are expected to argue that the Investigation Deliberation Committee's review will not function as an effective control mechanism over the transfer request authority.
Meanwhile, the HCIA has also prepared and implemented from today a partial revision of the operating guidelines for the Prosecution Deliberation Committee, clearly defining its nature as an advisory body.
The revised guidelines add "legal and factual issues forming the basis for decisions on prosecution or non-prosecution" to the subjects for review by the Prosecution Deliberation Committee.
The HCIA stated, "We will continue to strengthen internal and external control procedures for restrained exercise of authority and actively reflect the diverse opinions of external members in the investigation process to enhance public trust."
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