High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division Assigns Investigation Division 1 to Complaint Against Cho Heedae Over 'Written Recommendation for Supreme Court Justices'

Charges of Abuse of Power and Dereliction of Duty... Assigned on the 27th of Last Month

Appeal Filed in the ‘First Ex Officio’ Senior Police Officer Bribery Case

The case involving Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's written recommendation for Supreme Court Justice candidates, which led to a criminal complaint, has been assigned to the Investigation Division 1 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division.

High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap News

An official from the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division stated during a regular briefing at the Government Complex in Gwacheon on the 1st that "the civic group's complaint was received on the 25th of last month and was assigned to Investigation Division 1 on the 27th." The allegations in the complaint include abuse of power and dereliction of duty.

Previously, the civic group Judicial Justice Citizens' Action filed a criminal complaint with the division against Chief Justice Cho and Noh Kyung-pil, Chief of the National Court Administration. They raised an issue with Chief Justice Cho's written recommendation for the successors to former Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak and sitting Justice Lee Heung-gu, instead of the conventional face-to-face manner.

Meanwhile, the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division announced that it has filed an appeal in the so-called "first ex officio incident," a bribery case involving a former senior police officer, challenging the verdict from the appellate court. The division explained that it is difficult to accept the appellate ruling, in which certain charges were overturned with not guilty verdicts, charges were dismissed for civilian defendants, and portions of evidence were deemed inadmissible due to unlawful collection.

An official from the division said, "The statement of reasons for the appeal has not yet been filed," and added, "Since it needs to be submitted within 20 days after receiving the notice of the case records, we will further review and clarify the specific grounds for the appeal at a later date."

The division also expressed the view that there is a need to clearly define, in the governing law, grounds for investigating individuals who bribe high-ranking officials. This position stems from the fact that the initial trial court recognized the division's authority to investigate bribe-givers, but the appellate court subsequently ruled otherwise.

The official explained, "Currently, we can investigate and prosecute judges, prosecutors, or police officers of senior rank who directly receive bribes, but the grounds for investigating bribe-givers are unclear," and added, "It is necessary to revise relevant criminal statutes to enable investigations not only into the source but also the use of bribes."

The division also reiterated its opinion that, following the restructuring of the criminal justice system set for October, if prosecutors or military prosecutors determine there is a need for additional investigation in the division's cases, the approach of 'request for additional investigation'—rather than 'request for supplementary investigation'—would be appropriate. The division holds that, since prosecutors are on an equal footing, it is structurally inconsistent to demand supplemental investigations with the presupposition of compulsion, as is done with judicial police officers.

Additionally, the division has submitted its opinions to the National Assembly, suggesting that the investigative authority of the division should be stipulated in the main text of the governing law, not just in the supplementary provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act. They also proposed including Grade 4 and above officials of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and police officers ranked superintendent and above within the division's investigative scope.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.