CIO INVESTIGATION INTO CHO BEGINS

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As its first case, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials launched an investigation into power abuse allegations against Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon. Cho expected the CIO to deliver an unbiased judgment.

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The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials selected as its first case... a power abuse dispute involving Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon. The CIO announced that it had launched an investigation into the allegations late last month. The liberal Seoul education chief is accused of instructing officials to re-hire five dismissed teachers in 2018. The re-hired list included a figure who served as a co-head of Cho's election campaign team as well as those who were dismissed after engaging in illegal campaigning activities for the 2008 education superintendent election. In April, the Board of Audit and Inspection filed a complaint with the police against Cho on charges of instructing improper special employment and violating the state public service act. The Board of Audit also handed its probe results over to the Corruption Investigation Office. The CIO asked the police to transfer Cho's case and selected it as its first task after deliberation. The Seoul education chief said he expects the office to make an unbiased judgment. He also pledged to proactively explain about the special employment process and prove his innocence. With this move, Corruption Investigation Office head Kim Jin-wook kept his promise to begin an investigation into the new agency's first case before the end of April.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-wook(CIO head) : "(Can you launch an investigation within April?) Yes."

The CIO had been predicted to pick a corruption case involving prosecutors for its first task. In fact, cases involving prosecutors accounted for more than 40 percent of corruption allegations examined by the CIO. However, it eventually ended up selecting the Seoul education superintendent's case for its first investigation.