CIO Expresses Regret Over Disclosure of Oh Dong-woon's Appearance Schedule

[Financial News] The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) expressed regret over the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team (led by Lee Myung-hoon) announcing the scheduled appearance of CIO Chief Oh Dong-woon.
On the morning of the 28th at the Government Complex Gwacheon, a CIO official held a regular press briefing and stated, "It is regrettable that the appearance schedule for the related individual was disclosed externally even though it has not yet been finalized." The official added, "While it is not appropriate for one investigative agency to evaluate another, we do feel some disappointment."
The Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Team previously announced, "An investigation into Chief Oh will take place soon," and added, "The investigation is scheduled for this week."
Chief Oh is suspected of dereliction of duty for allegedly protecting his own organization by intentionally delaying the investigation and failing to notify the Supreme Prosecutors' Office about the National Assembly perjury accusation case involving former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Song Changjin. According to the CIO Act, the CIO chief is required to report any criminal suspicions involving CIO prosecutors to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office along with relevant materials.
On July 26 last year, former Prosecutor Song Changjin testified before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly that he was unaware until the 10th of that month that Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest, was implicated in lobbying allegations concerning Im Seong-geun, former commander of the 1st Marine Division, related to the Chae Sang-byeong death case. Song previously represented Lee in the 2021 DEUTSCH MOTORS INC. stock manipulation case, but claimed he did not know about Lee's involvement during his investigation of the Chae Sang-byeong case. As a result, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) filed a complaint against Song.
Regarding this, on the 20th, Chief Oh sent a text message to CIO staff stating, "This matter arose during the legitimate investigative activities of the CIO at the beginning of my tenure, and I am confident that it can be fully explained through legal procedures." He added, "I will respond steadfastly to protect the honor and legitimacy of the CIO."

kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-gyu Reporter