Hong Jun-pyo: "Abolish the Corruption Investigation Office and Create a Korean Version of the FBI"

Policy Statements Posted Daily on Social Media
Official Presidential Bid to Be Announced in Yeouido on the 14th
Calls for Changes to the Operation of Constitutional Economic Order Provisions

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu who has announced his intention to run for president, argued that "the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) should be abolished and an independent National Investigation Agency should be established as the Korean version of the FBI." On the 10th, Mayor Hong posted on his social media (SNS), "As seen during this impeachment phase, the hyena-like investigative behavior of investigative agencies can no longer be tolerated." He continued, "The bizarre investigative structure created during the Moon Jae-in administration must now be reformed," and added, "Let's create a National Investigation Agency to oversee all investigations."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who announced his intention to run for president, argued, "We should abolish the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and establish an independent National Investigation Agency as the Korean version of the FBI." Photo by Daegu City Hall

In particular, he said, "The prosecution should only be granted supplementary investigative authority for maintaining public prosecution, and the CIO should be abolished," and "The police should be responsible only for maintaining order, such as security, morality enforcement, and traffic, excluding investigations, and the authority to request warrants should be shared between prosecutors and judicial police officers." He emphasized, "Let's make the independent National Investigation Agency the Korean version of the FBI," and added, "We can no longer leave the prosecution or police swayed by the government and politics as they are and expect to advance to a developed nation era."

Furthermore, Mayor Hong stated on SNS that "it is now time to change the operation of the constitutional economic order provisions." He argued, "Article 119, Paragraph 2 on economic democratization, which was a groundbreaking provision at the launch of the 1987 system, is an exceptional clause to Article 119, Paragraph 1 on the free democratic economic order," and "for the past 40 years, it has been operated as a principal clause, resulting in a distortion of the economic order based on creativity and freedom, and a significant collapse of the balance between labor and capital." He added, "The economic democratization clause should be operated as an exceptional clause as originally intended by the legislature, and we should return to the principle of a free democratic economic order," and "The regulatory format should be changed to a negative system, setting only absolutely prohibited regulations, leaving the rest to autonomy and creativity."

Meanwhile, since announcing his presidential candidacy, Mayor Hong has been posting his policies daily on Facebook. This is interpreted as a strategy to demonstrate his clarity and readiness as a presidential candidate. Some critics argue that he releases policies on socially sensitive issues requiring consensus?such as abolishing the Constitutional Court, conducting the College Scholastic Ability Test twice a year, and executing death sentences within six months as per the law?without concrete plans. Mayor Hong plans to resign as Daegu mayor on the 11th and declare his candidacy at his presidential campaign headquarters in Yeouido on the 14th.