The man hired more than three years ago to clean up the Honolulu Liquor Commission after years of corrupt activity by some investigators has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

Liquor Control Administrator Dewey Kim Jr. was placed on paid leave Nov. 30 by the commission, Dennis Enomoto, commission chairman, confirmed yesterday. Enomoto declined to discuss the nature of the investigation, except to say it does not involve accusations of criminal wrongdoing.

Kim yesterday also declined to comment on specifics of the investigation, but he hinted that it involves commission employees who are not happy with his management style. Kim said he was confident he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

"In any organization, if somebody is not doing stuff that they're supposed to do, it's up to the supervisor to talk to them and say, 'Hey, what's going on?' and that's the stuff that's triggering some of this," Kim said. "People don't like to be disciplined, especially this organization, and they're going to fight back with this stuff they're doing."

He said his understanding is that a person without ties to the commission will be hired to conduct the investigation. Kim said he hopes this case will be wrapped up "fairly quick."

"I would ask people to wait until the results of this investigation comes in and see what the real facts are," Kim said.

The action against Kim is the latest in a series of setbacks for the commission. The organization is responsible of issuing liquor licenses and also is charged with enforcing liquor laws.

In 2002, eight former inspectors were indicted by a federal grand jury on racketeering, bribery, extortion and related charges. At the time, prosecutors described it as the state's largest corruption case involving a government agency.

All eight were found guilty in the case and received prison sentences.

In 2007, a former liquor inspector pleaded guilty to extorting nightclub owners in exchange for providing information about Liquor Commission inspections and allowing them to operate in violation of liquor laws.

In 2005, then-administrator Wally Weatherwax was stripped of his duties and later resigned. The commission, which did not reveal what led to his powers being removed, reached a settlement with Weatherwax.

In February, commissioner Danny Kim resigned after he was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Dewey Kim, a trial attorney, was hired in April 2006 and vowed to bring respect back to the commission.

City Council member Charles Djou has been a critic of the commission and said the investigation of Dewey Kim does not send a good message to the public.

"For the last several years, I have been pushing that the Honolulu Liquor Commission needs to do much more to restore the public trust and confidence in this agency," he said. "This latest revelation of problems and trouble at the Liquor Commission certainly doesn't lend itself to restoring public trust and confidence."

Over the years, Djou has proposed several changes to the commission, including making the top position an appointed post rather than a civil service job, and handing over enforcement responsibilities to the Honolulu Police Department. He said it may be time for the City Council to reconsider these proposals.