CIO: Complaint alleging President Lee abused his authority in National Pension Service matter “not yet assigned”

[Financial News] The CIO has yet to assign a complaint alleging abuse of authority in connection with claims that President Lee Jae-myung interfered in the management of the National Pension Service fund, it has been confirmed.
An official from the CIO said at a regular briefing on the morning of the 20th that the complaint filed by the Korea Shareholder Movement Headquarters against President Lee and Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyung, among others, had “not yet been assigned,” in response to a question about its assignment.
The Korea Shareholder Movement Headquarters filed a complaint with the CIO the previous day against President Lee, Minister Jeong and National Pension Service Chairman Kim Seong-ju, among others, on suspicion of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. The group is taking issue with changes to the fund’s investment policy following the president’s remarks about selling domestic stocks held by the National Pension Service.
The CIO said that the six complaints involving Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae had not all been assigned to the same division. The CIO has received six complaints concerning, among other matters, delays in Chief Justice Cho’s recommendations of Supreme Court justice nominees and controversy over written recommendations, as well as alleged bonus payments and use of official business expenses.
Asked whether all the cases had been assigned to Investigation Division 1, a CIO official replied, “Some cases are different in nature, so I understand they are not all in one place (one division).”

However, the official declined to give specific details about further investigative steps in the case involving Chief Justice Cho, such as questioning the complainants or conducting searches and seizures, saying, “It is difficult to comment because it concerns an ongoing investigation.”
Regarding the alleged personnel lobbying involving Kim Hyun-ji, head of the Presidential Office’s personal secretariat, the official said, “A check of our system shows there are currently no related cases in progress.” Asked whether the CIO had received a complaint filed on December 8 last year by Gwak Gyu-taek, then head of the People Power Party’s legal advisory committee, and others, the official said, “I haven’t checked the 2025 cases separately, so I’ll look into it.”
The complaint arose after text messages were made public in which Kim Nam-kuk, then the Presidential Office’s secretary for digital communications, responded in effect, “I’ll recommend [the candidate] to Hoon-sik hyung (Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik) and Hyun-ji nuna (Kim, head of the personal secretariat),” after Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jin-seok asked him last December to recommend a candidate for chair of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. On the 8th of that month, the People Power Party filed a complaint with the CIO against lawmaker Moon, former secretary Kim, Kim, head of the personal secretariat, and Chief of Staff Kang, on suspicion of abuse of authority and violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Meanwhile, the CIO said it was maintaining its existing position on reforming investigative authority over the president and members of the National Assembly. Asked whether it had submitted any additional opinions to the National Assembly or relevant agencies since the parliamentary audit, a CIO official said, “We haven’t submitted anything further, and our position hasn’t changed,” adding, “We plan to attend forums scheduled for November and elsewhere to present our views on the matter.”
Questions were also raised about the criteria for evaluating the CIO’s investigative performance.
A CIO official stressed, “It is realistically difficult to produce results when the necessary personnel and organization are not in place,” adding that it was necessary to consider whether investigative performance should be evaluated simply by the number of ordinary criminal cases handled or against the cases previously handled by the Prosecution Service’s Special Investigation Division and Central Investigation Department.
The official added, “Unless the organization, staffing and system are put in order, it will be difficult to achieve better results in line with the purpose for which the agency was established,” and said, “We will continue to offer our views on institutional improvements.”
The official said they had not been briefed on the specifics of any discussions about the division of responsibilities with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency or whether there had been consultations between the agencies.
[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun, Choi Eun-sol Reporter