The ruling and opposition parties must form a candidate recommendation committee and launch the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) without delay.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Act was set to take effect on July 15 amid overwhelming public support as a way of reforming the prosecution, which has enjoyed ‘unchecked power’ and investigated high-ranking officials’ crime and corruption without sanctuary. However, even when two months have passed since the Act’s enforcement date, CIO’s launch has been delayed indefinitely as no candidate recommendation committee for the head position has been formed.
According to the Act, the recommendation committee comprises 7 members, including 3 ex-officio members, 2 recommended by the ruling party, and 2 recommended by the opposition party. A decision is made with the approval of six of them. If the committee recommends two people through this process, the president nominates one of them and appoints them after a confirmation hearing. The stipulation that 6 out of 7 members must reach an agreement is a double, triple check system that allows the recommendation and appointment of the Head of Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) only through the opposition party’s consent.
However, the People Power Party demanded the appointment of a special inspector and a director of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation as a precondition for the recommendation of a candidate for the recommendation committee. Regarding this issue, there was anticipation for an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, as Kim Tae-nyeon, an in-house representative of The Minjoo Party of Korea, expressed the intention to reach a collective agreement. However, negotiations have stalled since the People Power Party insisted on recommending the candidates for the special inspector and director of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation first. There is no reason not to compromise when the opposition party has offered preconditions, and the ruling party has agreed to accept them. We do not believe that issues unrelated to the CIO should be a precondition for its launch. Still, as the CIO must be launched under the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, we hope that the CIO will be launched as soon as the ruling and opposition parties accept the preconditions.
The recommendation committee composition, which allows the candidates to be nominated only with the opposition party’s cooperation, was designed to strengthen the CIO’s neutrality and independence. We want to clarify to the People Power Party that they should not abuse such regulations to interfere with the CIO’s launch. Meanwhile, the Minjoo Party is preparing a bill that would require the head of the Law Professors’ Association and the chairman of the Law School Council to automatically serve as recommendation committee members if the opposition party refuses to nominate candidates. We do not think politicians should hand over their authority because they cannot fulfill their role. Therefore, we strongly urge the ruling and opposition parties to immediately form the recommendation committee and recommend the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.
The current law, which makes it difficult to recommend candidates for the CIO’s head without the ruling and opposition parties’ agreement, proves that the CIO can be launched neutrally and fairly without political bias. The CIO, which can restrain arbitrary power and investigate high-ranking government officials without sanctuary, is an organization that fulfills the needs of the people, and not the interests of either the ruling or opposition party. The ruling and opposition parties must form a candidate recommendation committee as soon as possible to launch the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.
2020. 9. 18
Transparency International-Korea (Joint Representatives Kang Sung-gu, Lee Sang-hak, Toe Hyu)
Translated by Oh Ga-in