CIO Has Yet to Receive Complaint Against Ruling-Camp Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon; Says Legal Rebuttal by Ji Gui-yeon Is “A Matter to Be Contested in Court”

[Financial News] The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it has yet to receive the ruling camp’s complaint against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. Regarding the legal rebuttal by Ji Gui-yeon, a chief judge at the Seoul Northern District Court indicted over allegations that he received meals paid for by lawyers he knew, the CIO said the matter should be contested during the trial.
A CIO official said at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex in Gwacheon on the 8th that no complaint had been received by 9 a.m. regarding the Democratic Party of Korea’s report against Han and an unidentified provider of the materials. “Nothing had been received by 9 a.m.,” the official said.
Earlier, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-ah held a press conference on the 6th and said he had reported Han and the unidentified person who provided him with investigation records and other materials to the CIO.
Kim argued that recordings related to the alleged solicitation of a new drug, which Han released concerning Kim Seung-won, the nominee for minister of justice, went beyond the scope of vetting the nominee and could constitute disclosure of official secrets, defamation by stating false facts, and disclosure of alleged criminal facts. Han’s side, however, maintains that he has an obligation to disclose information if the tip is credible and falls under the public’s right to know.
Since the 2nd, Han has successively released phone conversations and text messages with Yang, a broker who conveyed Genencell’s request to Kim Seung-won. Kim is suspected of having conveyed to the then head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety a request from Genencell in 2021 to expedite approval of clinical trials for the company’s COVID-19 treatment.
Meanwhile, the CIO also stated its position on the legal rebuttal by Ji, whom it indicted on the 4th on suspicion of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Regarding Ji’s side arguing that the two lawyers who paid for the meals could not reasonably be regarded as a single provider, a CIO official said, “I believe that point will be contested once the trial proceeds.” The official added, “At this stage, it is not a situation in which we need to express a separate opinion. Once the trial begins, we plan to respond accordingly.”
On the 4th, the CIO’s Third Investigation Division, headed by chief prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan, indicted Ji after determining that he had received hospitality worth approximately 4.09 million won. The allegation is that, after drinking with two lawyers at a reservation-only bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in August 2023, he had them pay the expenses, thereby receiving hospitality worth more than 1 million won on a single occasion.
In response, Ji’s side issued a statement on the day of the indictment, saying, “The cost of the gathering was paid separately by the two junior colleagues at different times, with each using his own money.” It argued that applying the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by aggregating the amounts paid by the two men as a single instance of hospitality was improper.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter