Kim Jin-wook, Head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, "We will deliver tangible results this year"

Revealed at the 2nd Anniversary Press Conference of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials
Government to Prepare Amendment Proposal to Supplement the Entire Corruption Investigation Office Act

On the 19th, at the '2nd Anniversary Press Conference of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials' held at the Gwacheon Government Complex Corruption Investigation Office, Kim Jin-wook, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, is giving an opening remark. /Photo by Choi Seok-jin

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Kim Jin-wook, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), who will mark his 2nd anniversary in office on the 21st, expressed his determination to deliver tangible investigative results to the public this year.

At the '2nd Anniversary Press Briefing of the CIO' held on the 19th at the Gwacheon Government Complex, Director Kim said in his opening remarks, "As the inaugural head of the CIO entering my final year in office, I will devote all my efforts to producing visible results, big or small, before the public this year."

He added, "The CIO was designed to be relatively small in scale, with only 23 prosecutors and 12 prosecutors in the investigation division, so the speed of case handling may seem somewhat slow, but we are steadily working hard, and I believe results will come soon."

At the briefing themed 'CIO's 2nd Anniversary Achievements and Future Tasks,' Director Kim greeted the new year, saying, "This year, the Year of the Rabbit, will be the first year of a leap forward."

Kim said, "Over the past two years, the CIO has faced many twists, turns, and controversies, receiving harsh criticism from the public and the media. However, one thing you must not forget is that the CIO started from scratch, recruiting and selecting prosecutors and investigators, and creating regulations with the selected personnel, and now it has reached its second year."

He continued, "After completing the first round of prosecutor and investigator recruitment, we immediately began investigations with large-scale raids just days later, and I believe we have been running non-stop since then. However, considering the high public expectations for the CIO's launch, I sincerely apologize for any shortcomings."

He pledged, "Today, on the occasion of the 2nd anniversary, I will take this as an opportunity to renew my resolve."

Kim stated, "Now entering its third year, the CIO was established under the solemn mandate of the public to conduct investigations and prosecutions of high-ranking officials without sanctuary. We will always remember this and handle our duties without losing our initial resolve."

He added, "Furthermore, if the CIO system is not functioning properly according to its founding purpose, I will actively voice my opinions as someone who has worked within the CIO and operated the system, identifying legal and institutional shortcomings or areas for improvement, and do my best to prepare measures for legal and institutional reforms."

At the end of his opening remarks, he once again apologized to the public for the controversial remarks made at the New Year's ceremony.

Following Director Kim's remarks, during the Q&A session with reporters, he reflected on the past two years, saying, "Designing, creating, and stabilizing a new system is quite difficult and requires a lot of time and effort. There are many trial and error moments. It may be easy to criticize from the outside, but actually coming here, building something, and making it work properly is very challenging, and we inevitably face much criticism and blame. That is our fate, and we have managed to endure it somehow."

He continued, "As I mentioned earlier, fortunately, after two years, the human, material, and institutional systems of the CIO are somewhat established and moving toward stabilization, so this year is the time to produce results. We also think so, and there are ongoing cases, so although I cannot specify when, I believe we will be able to announce results as soon as they are concluded."

In response to a question about the CIO's claim to be a human rights-friendly investigative agency and whether it differs from the police or prosecution, he said, "This is an area where we have not been well evaluated. When I first thought of a human rights-friendly investigative agency, it meant not disclosing suspect information or leaking official secrets during investigations. We do not conduct investigations by broadcasting or deliberately leaking information. However, we have not received much recognition for this. In fact, the CIO does not leak suspect information or official secrets to facilitate or motivate investigations. I believe we deserve credit for this, and over time, we will be evaluated accordingly."

Director Kim once again appealed for more personnel for the CIO on this day.

He pointed out that while increasing prosecutors and investigators is necessary, the most urgent problem is the shortage of administrative staff. Currently, several bills to amend the CIO Act proposed by opposition parties are pending in the National Assembly, but due to the ruling party's lukewarm and uncooperative stance on amending the CIO Act, these bills have not passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Kim said, "In fact, there are deficiencies and mismatches in the CIO system. For example, there is no regulation on how many days the CIO can detain a suspect. This is a loophole in the law."

He added, "There are also conflicting provisions within the CIO Act, so it would be better to revise them all at once. If we amend them one or two at a time, the law could become a patchwork."

To this end, Kim said he would consider submitting a government proposal to the National Assembly through the Ministry of Justice that supplements problematic provisions of the CIO Act. He also said he would promote amendments by reaching consensus through collecting opinions from academia and civic groups that have pointed out the need to revise the CIO Act.

Meanwhile, the CIO held a commemorative ceremony on its 2nd anniversary, including awards and the production of a 2nd anniversary commemorative video.

In addition to awards, two outstanding prosecutors were honored: Prosecutor Lee Jong-soo of the Investigation Division 3 in the investigation field, and Prosecutor Kim Sook-jung of the Investigation Planning Office in the prosecution and planning field. Both were appointed on April 16, 2020, and have been original members since the CIO's launch.

Director Kim also said that the CIO held video production events for each department and individual to mark the 2nd anniversary.

Kim said, "Many very good videos came out. They are truly high-quality, fun, and quite meaningful. Watching them became a good opportunity for our members to feel pride, a sense of mission, responsibility, warmth, and camaraderie within the CIO."