The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is an arm of the U.S.-based Center for Public Integrity that consists of a network of 160 journalists from about 60 countries.

The group, which disclosed the list of 245 Koreans with accounts in international tax havens on Wednesday, focuses on international issues that “do not stop at national frontiers,” such as cross-border crime.

Topics dealt with in ICIJ reports range from the most recently published piece on international tax evasion and overfishing of tuna to international trade and climate change.

Although the ICIJ was established in 1997, the organization had remained mostly out of public attention in Korea until last month when it announced that it had obtained a list of people with accounts in tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands.

At the time, the ICIJ announced that about 70 Koreans were on the list, but declined to disclose the names.

Following the revelation, Korea’s National Tax Service contacted the organization in an effort to obtain the list of Koreans with bank accounts in tax havens.

The request from the NTS, as with those from tax authorities from other countries including France and the U.S., was turned down.

In dealing with the issue, the ICIJ has worked with Korea’s Newstapa, which is an independent media outlet established by journalists in 2012 that focuses on investigative journalism.

While the ICIJ and its parent organization Center for Public Integrity aim to shed light on controversial issues, they have not been free from controversies of their own.

The Center for Public Integrity has been accused of being favorable to certain political groups, and criticized for receiving funds from George Soros.

In addition, legal issues have been raised about the process through which the center obtained information on the 2010 Looting of the Sea report, which revealed irregularities in bluefin tuna fishing.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)