By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) said Wednesday it will seek the passage of a revision bill that would give it the power to trace bank accounts independently.
Under the bill, the commission would be empowered to trace ranking government officials' tax payments; financial transaction records, including banking details; military and international flight records; and property registration records, ACRC officials said.
The measure also calls for the anti-corruption commission to be run under the direction of the President, instead of the prime minister.
If the bill passes through the National Assembly, the ACRC chairman would have the right to speak at Cabinet meetings and propose anti-corruption related bills to the prime minister.
ACRC Chairman Lee Jae-oh expressed his intention to strengthen the state-funded supervisory body's investigative power early this month at the National Assembly.
The main opposition Democratic Party, however, criticized the ACRC's move, saying it is a political maneuver to empower Chairman Lee, who is known as President Lee Myung-bak's right-hand man.
President Lee appointed Lee Jae-oh, who successfully spearheaded his 2007 presidential election campaign, as the chief of the commission in September.
Lee Jae-oh was one of the most influential figures in the then-main opposition Grand National Party, serving as floor leader, secretary general and member of the decision-making Supreme Council.
He left for the United States in May last year after being defeated in a parliamentary election. He returned to Korea in March after a self-imposed 10-month exile.