Only 59% of Budget Executed Since 2021
Less Than 1% Investigation Rate and 0.2% Prosecution Rate
30 Prosecutors and Investigators Resigned Over 3 Years
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has been found to have spent only 59% of the over 80 billion won budget it has received since its launch in 2021.
According to data submitted by the CIO to Kim Mi-ae, a member of the People Power Party, on the 14th, the CIO received a total budget of 81.36 billion won from its inception until May of this year. Of that, 48.223 billion won was spent, leaving about 41% of the budget unspent.
By year, the CIO received a budget of 23.22 billion won in 2021 and spent 13.946 billion won, recording an execution rate of 60.1%. A budget of 9.274 billion won was carried over or left unused. In 2022, it received 19.777 billion won and spent only 14.466 billion won. Last year, out of a budget of 17.683 billion won, 15.461 billion won was spent.
This year, the budget was allocated at 20.68 billion won, an increase of 2.997 billion won compared to last year, but as of the 8th, only 4.45 billion won has been spent, resulting in an execution rate of 21.5%.
The CIO’s case handling performance is also poor. From January 2021, the first year of its launch, to March 2022, it received a total of 3,025 cases but only filed charges in 24 cases, resulting in a filing rate below 1%. The prosecution rate compared to received cases is 0.2%. From March 2022 to the end of April this year, the CIO received 5,476 cases and filed charges in only 11 cases.
According to data submitted by the CIO to Rep. Kim’s office, 30 prosecutors and investigators have resigned over the three years since the CIO’s launch. Of the 33 who retired by May this year, 30 resigned mid-term citing "personal reasons," and only 3 retired due to term expiration. As of the end of April, there are 6 vacancies among prosecutors (authorized 25) and 4 vacancies among investigators (authorized 40). Only administrative staff are fully staffed with 20 members currently working.
Rep. Kim said, "The CIO, which was forcibly launched by the Democratic Party during the Moon Jae-in administration, has repeatedly been embroiled in political bias controversies and has shown poor performance, leaving many citizens puzzled about why it was created in the first place. While it is important to select a suitable CIO chief through this confirmation hearing, it is also time for a fundamental review of the CIO’s future. Serious discussions on reforming and transforming the CIO, beyond political camps, must take place."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
