Attorney Oh Dong-woon, a former judge, is nominated as the second head of the Corruption Investigation Office.

On the 26th, President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Oh Dong-woon (55, 27th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), a former judge, as a candidate for the second head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office. Candidates for the head of the Corruption Investigation Office must go through a National Assembly personnel hearing. The President’s Office said, “We plan to quickly request a personnel hearing from the National Assembly.”

Attorney Oh was appointed as a judge at the Busan District Court and served as the chief judge of the Ulsan District Court, a judge at the Seoul High Court, and a constitutional researcher at the Constitutional Court. An official from the Presidential Office said, “We made a careful decision after listening to various opinions and considering various factors such as fairness and reliability.”

Previously, the National Assembly’s Candidate Recommendation Committee for the Director of the Corruption Investigation Office recommended Oh and former prosecutor Lee Myung-soon (57, 22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute) as candidates for the Director of the Corruption Investigation Office. Regarding the delay in the nomination of candidates, an official of the President’s Office said, “This is a position that requires a National Assembly personnel hearing, so it must be carefully reviewed.” He added, “The nomination and personnel hearing procedures were conducted taking into account the National Assembly schedule, including elections.”

In addition, an official from the President’s Office said, “It is unfair to link the nomination of the head of the Corruption Investigation Office with the ‘Special Prosecutors’ Act on Corporal Chae.’ “I believe it was proposed in September of last year regardless of the investigation,” he said. At the same time, he said, “I understand that in the process of reviewing candidates for the head of the Corruption Investigation Office, criticism was raised in some quarters that it was ‘too late’ and that the investigation was neutralized.” He added, “When the head of the Corruption Investigation Headquarters was actually appointed, if you criticized ‘Is it to interfere with the investigation?’ that was fair criticism. “I don’t think this is the case,” he said.

Jeong Bong-oh, Donga.com reporter [email protected]