Corruption Investigation Office Holds Primary Jurisdiction Over Remand Case
Although complaints against Chief Justice Jo Hee-de were filed with multiple investigative agencies, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and intermediate prosecution offices, the prevailing assessment is that the CIO has priority in the investigation under the CIO Act. According to reporting on the 26th, complaints against Chief Justice Jo were filed across several agencies, including the CIO and intermediate prosecution offices. The grounds for the complaints range widely, from the "remand for retrial" ruling that reversed a verdict in a public official election law violation case involving then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung shortly before the last presidential election, to recent conflict over the appointment of Supreme Court justices and controversy over the Supreme Court's operational expenses.
From charges of distorting the law over the remand ruling, to dereliction of duty related to the dispute over nominating Supreme Court justices, to breach of trust, violation of the Anti-Graft Act, and loss of state treasury under the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes Act related to operational expenses — all fall within the investigative jurisdictions of the CIO, intermediate prosecution offices, and police. A CIO official explained, "Because the nature of the complaint cases differs, they are scattered across investigation divisions." The Seoul Intermediate Prosecutors' Office assigned the operational expenses complaint, filed on the 19th, to its Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau and is reviewing whether to investigate.
Article 24 of the CIO Act stipulates that when another investigative agency's investigation overlaps with a CIO investigation, the relevant agency must comply if the CIO chief requests the case be transferred. Similarly, Article 43, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Intermediate Prosecutors' Offices states that for criminal investigations falling under the CIO Act, the CIO chief can decide whether the case is transferred.
An Investigative Jurisdiction Coordination Council, designed to prevent overlapping investigations, competition among agencies, and cases being shuffled between them, is set to launch on February 5 next year. An official from the intermediate prosecution office said, "Once the coordination council is in place in February, some degree of traffic control will be possible." Until then, a gap of roughly four months will remain.
Jurisdictional conflicts have arisen because the investigative jurisdictions of the CIO, intermediate prosecution offices, and police overlap broadly, compounded by the addition of special judicial police officers. In the past, prosecutors played the coordinating role under their investigative authority, but that power has since been abolished.
