CIO Chief Oh Dong-woon Says Legal Revision, Staff Increase Needed for 'Investigation Without Sanctuary'

Oh Dong-woon, head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), stated, "The rebellion investigation has proven that the CIO is an essential government organization," adding, "I will run the organization without losing our original intention so that we can be an investigative agency that maintains political neutrality and a power-checking body that investigates the living power."

Pointing out the shortcomings of the current CIO Act, he also emphasized, "A revision of the law is absolutely necessary to overcome personnel limitations and structural drawbacks."

Oh made the remarks on Monday morning during a press conference held to mark the second anniversary of his inauguration, saying, "A legal revision is necessary to continue investigations without sanctuary, as desired by the public."

"Although questions were raised regarding jurisdiction and the legality of executing arrest warrants before the ruling on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's rebellion case was delivered, they were all recognized as lawful," Oh said. "I feel proud that the CIO played its role as an investigative agency in accordance with due process during the course of resolving the rebellion."

He continued, "Using the experience of investigating the rebellion case as a stepping stone, we have made efforts to enable our investigative division to demonstrate its capabilities to the fullest," and self-evaluated, "As a result, we have achieved achievements such as the indictment in the Jeonju District Court judge bribery case, which recently shook judicial trust, and the heavy sentence handed down in the bribery case involving a senior police officer."

Oh then emphasized, "In order to fully demonstrate the dynamic capabilities we have proven and to continue investigations without sanctuary that the public wants, a revision of the current CIO Act is absolutely necessary."

Under the current law, the CIO's personnel quota is set at 25 prosecutors, 40 investigators, and 20 administrative staff.

The CIO believes that at least twice the current number of personnel is needed for each level to perform its normal duties.

Although the CIO has the authority to investigate crimes committed by high-ranking public officials, it can only directly indict judges, prosecutors, and police officers of senior superintendent general rank or higher.

For other cases, if it deems an indictment necessary, it can only request the prosecution to file charges.

Oh also argued that a revision is needed regarding the overly narrow definition of "related crimes" subject to investigation.

"While special prosecution laws and others broadly recognize investigative authority over cases and crimes discovered during an investigation, the CIO Act restricts investigations if the case was not committed by a high-ranking public official," Oh added. "I believe that such regulations, which hinder investigations, must be revised urgently."

He continued, "The revision of the law is not about expanding the agency's authority, but a desperate appeal to sharpen the blade against the great evils deeply rooted in various parts of our society," urging, "Please listen to the urgency of the legal revision and join forces to realize judicial justice."

The CIO stated that a total of 69 related cases have been booked from the implementation of the law distortion crime in March until Monday.

Of these, 10 cases were transferred to other investigative agencies, 10 were dismissed without indictment, and the remaining 49 are under investigation, it explained.

"In cases where law distortion, dereliction of duty, and abuse of authority are filed together, we consider them subject to investigation and are investigating them," Oh said. "As a rule, we transfer cases involving only the charge of law distortion."

This is because it is unclear under existing criminal laws whether the crime of law distortion is subject to the CIO's investigation.

Accordingly, Oh stated that the case involving Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, who was accused solely of law distortion, was transferred to the National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation, which has the authority to investigate.

Regarding allegations concerning a "shortage of ballots," Oh said, "We are watching the investigation by the joint prosecution-police investigation team, and we have also received a complaint," adding, "We are reviewing the case, focusing on whether political public officials were involved in the crime."

Regarding the recent partial non-indictment of a Board of Audit and Inspection official suspected of bribery due to a "case ping-pong" between the prosecution and the CIO, Oh replied, "There are areas where investigative cooperation does not go smoothly due to institutional shortcomings," adding, "Separate regulations are needed to either allow the prosecution to conduct supplementary investigations directly or establish a procedure through which the prosecution can request the CIO to conduct supplementary investigations."

In addition, Oh emphasized, "We are currently facing a major transformation of the judicial system with the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Office," adding, "In times of upheaval, we will fulfill our role as a leader in the nation's anti-corruption investigative landscape and as a solid breakwater."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.