Rep. Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party Criticizes Systemic Mismanagement and Calls for Transparency Improvements

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials) has been found to be operating the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS), which was built over three years with a budget of approximately 14.5 billion Korean won, in such a poor manner that it cannot even produce basic statistics.

According to data submitted by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to the office of Rep. Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the office spent a total of 9.905 billion Korean won in June 2022 to introduce KICS. Maintenance costs followed: 1.107 billion won in November 2022, 1.62 billion won in 2023, and 1.89 billion won in 2024, with annual tax expenditures in the tens of billions of won. A total of 14.522 billion won has been invested since the introduction of KICS.

However, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has reportedly failed to even produce basic statistics, such as case processing statuses categorized by crime type and suspect type, utilizing KICS. According to Rep. Song's office, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials stated, "We manage statistics by investigative department, prosecutor, occupation, and charge," but refused to provide the data, citing "inaccuracies" when asked to submit statistical materials.

The office also responded that it "does not separately manage basic indicators, such as the status of case handling from receipt to closure, which are managed by other investigative agencies, and thus cannot submit them." It added that it plans to improve the system to manage statistics based on "processing periods." Despite spending massive sums on the computer system over the past three years, it has failed to produce even basic statistics.

In response, Rep. Song Seok-jun stated, "Failing to properly produce even a single case statistic despite investing hundreds of billions of won in the budget is a dereliction of duty," and emphasized, "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials must undertake comprehensive improvements to KICS to ensure transparency in case management and statistics."

Exclusive: Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Fails to Produce Basic Statistics Despite 14.5 Billion Won KICS Investment