With a '66% Supreme Court Acquittal Rate,' Can the CIO Overcome Controversy Over Its Investigative Capabilities Through Pre-Indictment Verification?

[Financial News] The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is considering introducing a "pre-indictment verification system" that involves prosecutors responsible for prosecutions from the early stages of investigations. This move is intended to verify evidence and legal principles once more at the pre-indictment stage, as controversy continues over the CIO's investigative and prosecution capabilities, with two out of the three cases it referred to trial that received final Supreme Court rulings resulting in acquittals.
According to legal circles on the 14th, Oh Dong-woon, head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), is considering introducing a pre-indictment verification system modeled on the Japanese Public Prosecutors Office's system of supervisory prosecutors.
The plan is to institutionalize a procedure in which prosecutors responsible for prosecutions participate early in the investigation of major cases, request supplementary evidence, and coordinate with the investigation team, or to make 'pre-indictment screening' a regular practice by linking it with existing deliberative procedures such as the Indictment Review Committee.
Previously, in late June, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) dispatched a delegation led by its deputy chief to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and the Supreme Court of Japan to examine the relevant systems. In Japan, when investigating large-scale and complex cases, prosecutors from the trial division participate from the early stages of the investigation, review the evidence from a perspective different from that of the investigation team, and directly handle the trial once the case is indicted.
Oh Dong-woon described this as a kind of 'red team.' The plan is to reduce the possibility of acquittal after indictment by examining weaknesses in the evidence and counterarguments likely to be raised in court from a perspective different from that of the investigation team.
The legal community believes that the background to the CIO's consideration of such a system is the controversy over its investigative capabilities that has continued since the agency's launch.
According to the 'Status of Major Operations' report submitted by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-kyu last month, the CIO directly indicted a total of seven cases from its launch in 2021 through last month. Of these, three cases received final Supreme Court rulings: two resulted in confirmed acquittals, while the remaining one received a suspended sentence. Looking only at cases with final rulings, the acquittal rate stands at approximately 66%.
Accordingly, the CIO's verification of evidence and legal principles from the investigation stage, reflecting a trial perspective, is interpreted as a measure to narrow the gap between investigation and prosecution. However, some in the legal community say it is necessary to distinguish between preliminary review from a trial perspective and strengthening investigative capabilities themselves.
A lawyer who previously served as an anti-corruption prosecutor pointed out, "Until now, the investigation and trial-preparation processes within investigative agencies have been completely separate areas," adding, "Although the CIO is seeking to narrow the capability gap by involving trial prosecutors in the investigation process, it must consider various internal filtering mechanisms to reduce the gap."
The personnel structure of the CIO is also being cited as a problem.
Under the CIO Act, investigators serve six-year terms and may be reappointed, but they must undergo a review during the reappointment process. As the terms of the so-called 'first-generation investigators' hired when the CIO was launched begin to expire sequentially next year, 17 people are reportedly expected to be subject to term-extension reviews next year alone. That is nearly half of the CIO's 37 investigators as of last month.
In addition, the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, scheduled to launch on the 2nd of next month, is another variable in the CIO's personnel management.
A lawyer who previously served as a chief prosecutor emphasized, "If the investigative-agency system is reorganized with the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency next month, the CIO will also be in a position where it must prove its performance as an investigative agency specializing in crimes committed by high-ranking public officials," adding, "The CIO must overcome the controversy over its investigative capabilities that has continued since its launch through institutional improvements, including 'pre-indictment screening,' and restructuring its personnel system."
[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun Reporter