Seoul Serious Crimes Investigation Agency transfers case against Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae to police over ‘fiscal drain’ remark about fire service

[Financial News] The Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA) has transferred to the police the case against Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, who was reported over her “fiscal drain” remark about the fire service.
According to legal circles on the 28th, the Seoul Regional Serious Crimes Investigation Agency transferred to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on the 23rd a case in which the civic group Committee for the Protection of Ordinary People’s Livelihood filed a complaint against Gov. Choo on the 19th, alleging abuse of authority, obstruction of business, defamation and other offenses.
The Seoul Serious Crimes Investigation Agency assigned the case to its Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau on the 21st, but transferred it to the police just two days later.
The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is understood to have determined that the alleged offenses do not fall within the scope of cases it can investigate directly under the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act. Its investigative remit is limited to corruption, economic, defense-industry, drug-related, insurrection, treason and cybercrimes; the crime of distortion of law; and crimes committed while in office by officials of the Public Prosecution Office, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the courts, as well as by police officers.
The decision is also understood to have been influenced by the view that it would be appropriate for the police to investigate, given the nature and scale of the case. A Seoul Serious Crimes Investigation Agency official explained, “We took into comprehensive consideration whether the case falls within the scope of investigations under the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act, along with various other factors.”
Under Article 43 of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act, the agency may transfer a case to another investigative body if, in light of the suspect and the content and scale of the case, it determines that the other body would be better suited to investigate it.
Earlier, at a parliamentary audit on the 13th, Gov. Choo referred to the budget for fire service personnel and said, “With personnel costs at around 1.1 trillion won, the fire service is the biggest and most troublesome drain on public finances.”
The Committee for the Protection of Ordinary People’s Livelihood claimed that the remark amounted to defamation, abuse of authority, obstruction of business and other offenses, and filed a complaint with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
The Committee also took issue with Gov. Choo’s comment to reporters after she paid her respects at the funeral home of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, who died in the line of duty at the scene of a fire in Bucheon on the 17th: “Since you want an apology, I apologize.” It argues that the remark also constituted defamation of fire service personnel.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter