The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) Tuesday marks its first 300 days as an independent agency responsible for investigating crimes committed by high-ranking officials up to and including the President. Yet the public is giving it a poor assessment for its initial performance.
In fact, there has not been a single case in which the CIO has received good reviews. Its lack of investigative ability is understandable, given its manpower shortage. But doubts and disputes over its political neutrality are serious enough to shake the very foundation of the office.
Since its inception in January, the office has carried out investigations into 12 cases. Only one of them ― concerning allegations that Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, abused his power to rehire teachers dismissed for their involvement in cases of corruption ― has been concluded, while the rest are ongoing.
The more serious problem is that its fairness is being broadly called into question. The CIO placed Yoon Seok-youl, presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), under investigation in late October over allegations that he ordered prosecutors to document judges' ruling tendencies when he was the prosecutor general. This was the fourth time the new agency has investigated him. This means that a third of its 12 cases hitherto are targeting the opposition's strongest presidential contender. Considering that the CIO is supposed to police nearly 7,000 high-ranking officials, it cannot avoid criticism that it is scrutinizing Yoon in the hope that some of the suspicions raised against him are found to be true.
What's even more absurd is that the agency transferred to the prosecution its investigation into the Daejang-dong land development corruption scandal in which Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is alleged to have been implicated. The CIO's repeated blunders are prompting calls that it should be disbanded. Kim Jin-wook, the agency's head, ought to take these calls painfully and do his best to restore confidence in the agency. He must also take a hard look at whether the CIO really needs to exist as a unit exclusively investigating crimes by the powers that be.