During Two Years Since Inception, the Corruption Investigation Office Shows No Achievements and Reveals Limitations in Investigative Capabilities
Since its launch in 2021, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has suffered a blow to its reputation after failing to secure the custody of a current high-ranking police official suspected of bribery in its first self-initiated investigation.
On the 2nd, Yoon Jae-nam, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the CIO following a warrant hearing for Kim, a police superintendent affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Receiving such a disappointing result as the dismissal of an arrest warrant in its first self-initiated investigation has strengthened arguments against the effectiveness of the CIO.
Within and outside the legal community, there is strong public criticism calling for the abolition of the CIO, which has failed to perform its proper role over the past two years. Moreover, the court’s judgment that "although the bribe giver handed over money expecting assistance in future criminal cases, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that actual mediation took place" regarding the investigation into Superintendent Kim, which the CIO pursued with great effort, is fatal to the CIO. This is interpreted as the CIO having requested an arrest warrant without properly securing evidence, revealing the office’s inadequate investigative capabilities without any filter.
Superintendent Kim is suspected of receiving several hundred million won in bribes from A, the owner of a small and medium-sized enterprise, in exchange for requests related to investigations from 2020 until recently. The CIO had earlier detected this separate allegation against Superintendent Kim during the investigation into allegations of interference in the case of Lee Sang-young, chairman of Daewoo Industrial Development, and requested an arrest warrant, which was dismissed. Superintendent Kim is also under investigation by the CIO for allegedly receiving 120 million won out of a promised 300 million won from Chairman Lee last June while serving at the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, in exchange for interfering with the police investigation.
After the warrant hearing for Superintendent Kim, Judge Yoon stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "At this stage, there is a lack of necessity and validity to detain the suspect." Judge Yoon acknowledged that "it is recognized that the suspect received a large sum of money from A, and A appears to have expected the suspect’s assistance in future criminal or other disputes." He also noted, "It seems possible that the suspect, a high-ranking police official, could exert influence on police officers handling A’s cases in the future." However, Judge Yoon pointed out, "It is unclear whether the money received by the suspect is related to the handling of other police officers’ cases, and there is a lack of objective evidence to recognize that the suspect actually engaged in mediation to favor the cases."
Previously, the CIO also requested arrest warrants twice for Son Jun-sung, head of the Litigation Department at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, who was indicted over the so-called ‘accusation manipulation’ allegations, but the court dismissed both requests.
Since its inception, the CIO has been struggling with staffing shortages. The current number of personnel is 21, four fewer than the authorized 25 (one chief prosecutor and three prosecutors). Experienced prosecutors from the prosecution have shown little interest in the CIO, and the investigative system has yet to be firmly established. Under these circumstances, the CIO has recorded a ‘three strikes, three misses’ record, with all three arrest warrants requested for high-ranking officials since its launch being dismissed.
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