Im Eun-jung alleged Kim Ji-yong had problems during his time as a prosecutor

Civic group filed complaint with the agency last Wednesday

Defamation not listed among serious crimes under the law

Case may be transferred to police if deemed outside agency's jurisdiction

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency has assigned to its anti-corruption unit a case involving Im Eun-jung, chief of the agency's Gwangju branch, who was accused by a civic group of defaming Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to serve as the agency's inaugural chief.

According to legal sources Thursday, the Seoul Serious Crimes Investigation Agency recently assigned the case against Im — who faces charges of defamation through the posting of false information under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection — to its anti-corruption investigation unit. The civic group Sabeop Jeongui Baro Seeugi Simin Haengdong filed the complaint against Im with the agency on Wednesday.

On Oct. 5, Im posted on her SNS account claiming that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's First Inspection Division had in 2018 ignored a complaint related to a sexual violence case involving Jin Dong-gyun, a former prosecutor and the brother-in-law of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. Kim was the head of that division at the time. Im had repeatedly argued that Kim was unfit to serve as the agency's inaugural chief, continuing to make such remarks even after being appointed Gwangju branch chief — a stance that made her the first subject of an internal audit after the agency launched.

The civic group said in its complaint filed on Wednesday that Im "worked for a long time as a prosecutor — a specialist in investigation and law — yet allegedly made false and defamatory claims against the victim, Kim, without even verifying the basic facts," adding that she "must bear criminal responsibility for damaging his reputation by portraying him as unfit to lead the agency."

Kim responded to Im's allegations by saying that Im had simply requested an audit without submitting any supporting materials on a matter already under review by a fact-finding team, and that his division had merely notified her it would review the matter after the ongoing investigation concluded — not that it had mishandled anything. At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Kim said the First Inspection Division had been a subject of the investigation, not the body conducting it.

The agency is reviewing whether Im's defamation case falls within its investigative jurisdiction. Under the law and the agency's organizational rules, the anti-corruption unit handles corruption cases involving civil servants' job-related crimes, criminal cases involving civil servants from the prosecution service, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, courts, and police, as well as cases related to public safety and political funds — along with any cases the agency chief designates. If the agency determines that defamation falls outside its jurisdiction, it may transfer the case to police or another authority.

An agency official said defamation is not included among the serious crimes defined under the law and that the agency is reviewing how to proceed.


bell@heraldcorp.com