The Growth and Cohesion policy think tank, launched Wednesday to support Democratic Party of Korea presidential hopeful Rep. Lee Jae-myung, is pushing to expand the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' authority to investigate insurrection charges an official campaign pledge — advancing Lee’s broader plans for prosecution reform that separates the authority to investigate and prosecute.
A judicial reform subcommittee under Growth and Cohesion recently submitted a proposal calling for prosecution reform, including an amendment to grant the CIO authority to investigate insurrection charges, according to the Korean-language daily newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun.
The move comes after controversies over which investigative institution had the authority to investigate former President Yoon Suk Yeol for leading an insurrection when he declared martial law on Dec. 3.
While the CIO at the time initiated a probe into Yoon by categorizing insurrection as a crime related to the abuse of power – a crime within the CIO’s jurisdiction – Yoon’s legal representatives argued at the time that the CIO’s investigation was unlawful as it lacked formal authority over insurrection charges.
The proposal also includes a supplementary provision to strengthen the CIO’s authority when it comes to insurrection cases, by pushing to grant the CIO investigative authority when it comes to already-indicted cases like Yoon’s.
Lee is currently the front-runner across the entire field of presidential hopefuls. If he is elected, this proposal is likely to become reality -- enabling the CIO to lead the criminal investigations of Yoon and other key officials in the Yoon administration accused of insurrection, including Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Joo-hyun, who met at a presidential safehouse after martial law was lifted on Dec. 4.
Though a think tank official was also quoted by Kyunghyang Shinmun as saying that “not all proposals are due to be drafted as final election pledges” for Lee, the presidential front-runner was also quoted in a recent YouTube video posted on Tuesday by the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation saying that he plans to “significantly strengthen” the CIO.
“Investigative bodies must check and balance each other. We can’t entrust all (investigative) responsibilities to a single agency,” said Lee.
The CIO reform proposal by Growth and Cohesion also includes expanding the number of CIO prosecutors while also extending their terms to be the same as regular prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. While regular prosecutors in Korea are granted tenure until the legal age of retirement, by law, prosecutors of the CIO are only allowed to serve three-year terms and cannot be appointed more than three times, garnering criticism in the past that such limitations make it difficult for the CIO to attract top talent compared to the regular prosecution office.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
