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| The law regarding the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Office went into effect on Wednesday, but its opening is still far off./ Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
An independent agency tasked with investigating corruption allegations against high-ranking government officials and their family members became official, Wednesday, as the law regarding its establishment and operation went into effect.
However, it will still be a while until the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) is up and running, as the process has ground to a halt due to political fighting between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP).
The most recent development involved lawyer Jang Seong-geun, who had been appointed to find a leader for the new investigative body, less than a day after the appointment by the DPK, Tuesday.
Feeling pressure the from the UFP, Jang withdrew himself, saying that he had defended Kang Hoon ― who is currently on trial for conspiring with Cho Ju-bin to force women, including minors, to create sexually explicit videos, which he distributes on Telegram ― in a separate case last year on charges of attempted murder.
The ruling party is currently looking for another candidate, who will be one of seven members of a committee assigned to find the chief of the investigation office. The two main parties can appoint two members each.
The launch has also been delayed by the UFP because it doesn't want the office to exist. It views the agency as a tool of political suppression. It asked the Constitutional Court earlier to review the legislation establishing the office and has been refusing to appoint committee members.
"The CIO is supposed to be an effective tool to curb corruption among high-ranking officials in Korea. But it is already embroiled in political strife between the political parties and this is delaying the opening. I am deeply concerned to see this happening," said Han Sang-hee, a professor of law at Konkuk University in Seoul.
The CIO has been almost 25 years in the making.
Korea has been notorious for corruption among politicians and high-ranking government officials.
In 2017, President Park Geun-hye was removed from office on corruption charges. Last week, an appeals court upheld her sentence of 20 years imprisonment. Along with her, several other government officials were imprisoned after being found guilty of corruption.
The first legislative drive to establish the CIO was in 1996. Since then ― until last December when the bill was finally passed ― the National Assembly always had similar bills on the floor but never reviewed them.
Roh Moo-hyun, president from 2003 to 2008, is remembered for his strong push to establish the agency but this was unsuccessful. It has been the top priority for President Moon Jae-in since he took office in 2017.
According to the law, the CIO will police almost 6,500 high-ranking government officials and politicians, and their spouses and children ― for presidents, its jurisdiction will also extend to cousins.
The CIO will only look into corruption-related allegations. Amid the #MeToo movement, recently involving high-profile politicians, activists have called on the agency to look also into sexual harassment cases.
The CIO has a major downside.
When it comes to indictments, the CIO investigators can indict only prosecutor-generals, judges, prosecutors and police officers. For others, the prosecutors' office retains the power to indict them, with the CIO limited to making recommendations.
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