Denied tip-off at last October's National Assembly audit
"Ask the National Assembly to file perjury charges"
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCOIU) has requested the National Assembly to file charges against Im Yoon-joo, former Planning and Coordination Officer of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) and current head of the ACRC Government Joint Civil Complaints Center, for violating the National Assembly Witness Protection Act. Im was identified as the person who reported allegations of misconduct by former ACRC Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee to the Board of Audit and Inspection.
According to the legal community on the 2nd, the HCOIU's Investigation Division 4 (led by Chief Prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan) sent a request for cooperation in investigation to the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee the previous day, asking them to file charges against former Officer Im.
The HCOIU is reportedly suspicious that former Officer Im, after reporting the allegations against former Chairperson Jeon to the Board of Audit and Inspection to trigger a "targeted audit," gave false testimony to the National Assembly by denying having made such a report.
Under the National Assembly Witness Protection Act, a witness who has sworn an oath and then gives false testimony can be sentenced to imprisonment for one to ten years. If the crime is confessed before being uncovered, the sentence may be reduced or waived.
During the National Assembly Political Affairs Committee's audit in October last year, former Officer Im repeatedly denied having made the report, engaging in a battle of truth claims with opposition committee members who identified her as the whistleblower.
Rep. Oh Ki-hyung of the Democratic Party of Korea questioning Im Yoon-joo, then Director of Planning and Coordination at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission [Image source=National Assembly Broadcasting]
In December of the same year, based on the testimony of former Secretary-General of the Board of Audit and Inspection Yoo Byung-ho, who was investigated as a suspect, and other investigation details, the HCOIU judged that there is a high possibility that former Officer Im committed perjury.
The HCOIU believes that filing charges for violation of the National Assembly Witness Protection Act requires a complaint from the National Assembly, and thus sent the request for cooperation in investigation.
As a result, there is speculation that the investigation into the "targeted audit allegations" case, which had seen no visible progress for several months following former Secretary-General Yoo's summons, may gain momentum.
Former Chairperson Jeon filed a complaint with the HCOIU against former Secretary-General Yoo and the whistleblower in December 2022, alleging that the Board of Audit and Inspection initiated a targeted audit to pressure her resignation based on false and malicious reports from senior ACRC officials.
Former Secretary-General Yoo and former Officer Im were classmates from the 38th Administrative Examination.
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