Kim Jin-wook, head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), is under fire for offering his official car to Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, to help the latter secretly enter his office in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, for questioning as a suspect.
CCTV footage disclosed by local media last week showed Lee, who is suspected of having abused his power to block an investigation into the alleged illegal process of imposing an exit ban on a former vice justice minister, getting into Kim's official vehicle in an alley in Gwacheon, March 7. This came to light belatedly and is causing controversy since Lee, President Moon Jae-in's henchman in the prosecution, appeared to be receiving special treatment.
Escorting a suspect to a law enforcement agency via the official car used by its chief is unprecedented and left the public's jaws hanging. The TV footage is reminiscent of secret dealings between criminals and raises concerns that the CIO may degenerate into the “guardian of those in power” just as conservatives feared when it went into operation in January.
Kim said he had no alternatives for security reasons. But this is nothing more than a lame excuse. Transporting a suspect via an official car without a valid reason is certainly a serious breach of security regulations. It may now be reasonable to suspect that the new law enforcement agency, launched with the mission of holding the prosecution in check, is walking on eggshells, aware that Lee could be a strong candidate for the position of prosecutor general.
There was an earlier controversy over Lee's special treatment when Kim didn't make a report after meeting him on March 16. Kim claimed that he called in Lee to conduct basic questioning, but the documents sent to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office showed only the date and location of their meeting and didn't contain what was discussed between them. Kim must know that people are already questioning the trustworthiness of the CIO even before it is fully operational. He should have been more careful about maintaining neutrality, and now must pay heed to the strong calls for his resignation and the abolition of the CIO.