Opening remarks at press briefing marking two years in office; 'CIO will hold the line amid sweeping justice system overhaul'
By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business
Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, called for amendments to the CIO Act to overcome the agency's staffing constraints, speaking at a press briefing Monday to mark his second anniversary in office.
"To fully exercise the dynamic capabilities we have demonstrated and to continue the investigation into protected circles that the public demands, amending the current CIO Act is absolutely necessary," Oh said at the briefing held at the agency's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.
He said the amendment was not about expanding the agency's authority but about sharpening its ability to pursue entrenched wrongdoing throughout society. "This is an urgent appeal to overcome the limitations and structural shortcomings of the law," Oh said. "I sincerely ask that you heed the urgency of this reform and lend your support for the realization of judicial justice."
Oh said the past year had been a breathless sprint that began immediately after wrapping up the investigation into the Dec. 3 insurrection case, which he described as a landmark in South Korea's constitutional history. He cited the indictment of a Jeonju District Court judge on bribery charges and a heavy sentence handed down in a police superintendent's bribery case as evidence that the CIO has pushed to the forefront of rooting out corruption among senior officials. He said the agency now stands at a crossroads in its institutional development and that legal reform is essential.
Oh also addressed the CIO's role amid a sweeping overhaul of the justice system, which will see the Prosecution Service abolished in October and replaced by a new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and a Public Prosecution Service. "The more dramatically the landscape shifts, the clearer the CIO's mission to hold the line becomes," he said.
He said the agency would serve as both a leader and a firm bulwark in the national anti-corruption landscape, drawing on its strength and dynamism during the period of upheaval. "We will proactively chart a future vision so that not a single gap in investigations emerges during the restructuring process," he said.
Oh, a former judge, took office in May 2024 as the second CIO chief, succeeding founding chief Kim Jin-wook, for a three-year term.
bell@heraldcorp.com
