The Supreme Court has ruled that the Uiwang City Council may conduct an administrative investigation into a secretary to the Uiwang mayor who was caught manipulating comments on a local online community but received only a light punishment.
The Supreme Court's second division, presided over by Justice Park Young-jae, on the 24th ruled against plaintiff Kim Sung-jei, a People Power Party Uiwang mayor, in a suit seeking confirmation of invalidity of the City Council's reapproval of the "administrative investigation plan."
Earlier, A, head of the Uiwang City Policy Communication Office, accessed an online community available only to residents of a certain apartment complex using another person's ID. A wrote a rebuttal to a post opposing Mayor Kim's municipal administration and also posted comments in rebuttal.
A was convicted of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection for intruding into the information and communications network beyond the permitted access authority. Afterward, Uiwang City issued A a "reprimand." A reprimand is the lightest disciplinary action for public officials, a punishment that admonishes wrongdoing and prompts reflection.
In response, the Uiwang City Council voted to approve a plan for an "administrative investigation related to the Uiwang mayor's secretary's cyber opinion manipulation," saying it would examine whether the level of discipline was appropriate and whether Mayor Kim was involved. Mayor Kim requested the council to reconsider, but the council passed it again as originally proposed. The Uiwang City Council has seven members: three from the People Power Party, two from the Democratic Party of Korea, and two independents.
Mayor Kim then filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court, arguing the council's resolution was void. Kim's side argued that an administrative investigation into A's discipline does not concern the affairs of a local government under the Local Autonomy Act and that the level of discipline falls under the exclusive authority of the head of a local government.
The Supreme Court found that "the administrative investigation in question falls under 'guidance and supervision of subordinate administrative agencies and organizations' and 'personnel, welfare, and education of affiliated public officials,' which are prescribed as local government affairs under the Local Autonomy Act."
Regarding Kim's argument that the administrative investigation aims to meddle in a case on trial or currently investigating, the court also said it is "to investigate whether the level of disciplinary action against the wrongdoer is appropriate and whether the plaintiff was involved in the wrongdoing."
The court also determined that the administrative investigation merely involves passive, ex post facto intervention within the scope of checks on the Uiwang mayor's personnel authority, and thus cannot be seen as infringing on the mayor's exclusive authority or violating the principle of separation of powers.