'Vacant Chief Position' Prolonged... Accumulating Cases at the Public Corruption Investigation Office

‘President Yoon Accusation’ and Other High-Interest Cases Pile Up
Chief Appointment Earliest in May... Case Backlog Expected to Worsen

Although cases attracting attention to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo) are piling up, the prolonged vacancy in the leadership appears to be hindering the acceleration of investigations.

Government Gwacheon Complex, Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 27th, according to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy, Gong-su-cheo received cases including the one accusing Ambassador Lee Jong-seop to Australia, who is suspected of exerting pressure on the Marine Corps investigation, of abuse of authority and aiding a criminal by President Yoon Seok-yeol’s direct involvement in his departure and appointment. Another case involves accusations of falsifying official documents against President Yoon and officials from the Presidential Office.

Gong-su-cheo assigned the case filed by the Joguk Innovation Party and the Democratic Alliance accusing President Yoon, former and current Prosecutor Generals, and prosecution officials of abuse of authority and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act for illegally collecting and managing digital data beyond the scope of the prosecution’s search warrant, to Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Song Chang-jin) and has begun the investigation.

Despite the accumulation of politically sensitive accusations like these, Gong-su-cheo is currently operating under an acting chief system, which prevents agile responses such as personnel adjustments between departments or forming separate investigation teams. This inevitably causes delays in case processing.

The problem is that although two final candidates for the Gong-su-cheo chief have been selected, President Yoon has not appointed a final candidate for nearly a month, signaling a prolonged leadership vacancy. The Gong-su-cheo Chief Candidate Recommendation Committee recommended lawyers Lee Myung-soon and Oh Dong-woon as candidates to President Yoon on the 29th of last month. President Yoon only needs to select one of the two as the final candidate, but he has not done so even after nearly a month.

Even if President Yoon appoints a Gong-su-cheo chief candidate, a confirmation hearing must be held, which is expected to take place no earlier than May, after the general election scheduled for the 10th of next month.

As the Gong-su-cheo chief vacancy lengthens, important decisions such as case handling directions are also expected to be delayed. Currently, Kim Seon-gyu, chief prosecutor of Investigation Division 1, who is acting as the Gong-su-cheo chief, has submitted his resignation. Since the usual period for resignation acceptance is 4 to 5 weeks, there is a risk that a vacancy will arise not only in the leadership but also in the practical investigation command line.

Inside and outside the legal community, there is a consensus that the Gong-su-cheo chief position must be filled for important decisions to be made. Lawyer A, a former chief prosecutor, said, "Considering the importance of the cases, the acting chief is not at a level to make decisions," and added, "The acting chief does not need to step in to resolve cases, but will not make decisions."