Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials(CIO) Director General Kim Jin-wook has nominated a lawyer who formerly served as a judge as his deputy. 

Kim held an online media briefing on Thursday to announce his pick, Yeo Woon-kook, the vice chief of the Korean Bar Association who worked as a judge for 20 years. 

Kim had initially planned to nominate two and ask President Moon Jae-in to choose one of them, but said he changed his mind after listening to many opinions. 

Kim, who is also a former judge, said he considered Yeo’s long experiences with criminal cases as supplementary to his expertise on the Constitution. 

The inaugural CIO chief said Yeo was chosen among the two finalists, adding the other candidate considered was a prosecutor. He did not identify who the prosecutor is. 

The question on who would be Kim's deputy had drawn much attention amid the opposition bloc's suspicion that the new anti-corruption agency will faithfully follow the Moon Jae-in administration's prosecution reform drives and purge legal enforcement agencies of alleged power abuse. 

Yeo, 53, served on the bench at Suwon and Seoul district courts and also at Seoul High Court before resigning in 2016.