Ministry unveils framework for serious-crime agency

2,874-member force; prosecutors briefed on transfer

Police, lawyers to fill remaining posts

Unit to handle supplementary probes for vulnerable victims

Kim Min-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of Interior and Safety, briefs reporters at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday on preparations for the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. [Yonhap]
Kim Min-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of Interior and Safety, briefs reporters at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday on preparations for the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. [Yonhap]

The Serious Crime Investigation Agency, set to open Oct. 2 alongside the abolition of the Prosecution Service, will serve as the dedicated investigative body for seven categories of major crime and will also take on supplementary investigations into crimes against socially vulnerable victims. After concerns arose that abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers could weaken protections for crime victims, the government and ruling party decided to grant the new agency authority to conduct such probes in specific cases.

Kim Min-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of Interior and Safety, unveiled the agency's organizational framework at Government Complex Seoul on Tuesday. "After 78 years, the Prosecution Service will pass into history, and on Oct. 2 the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service will launch," Kim said. "The government is preparing for the agency to open as a more accountable investigative body, with the protection of citizens' rights and interests as its top priority."

More than 2,800 investigators to handle major crimes

The agency will have a total of 2,874 staff, with investigators making up 89.3 percent of the workforce alongside general civil servants. The headquarters and six regional offices — including one in Seoul — will handle investigations across seven areas: corruption, economic crime, defense procurement, narcotics, insurrection and foreign exchange offenses, cybercrime, and obstruction of justice. The headquarters will house three major investigative bureaus — economic crime, anti-corruption and forensic science — to direct serious-crime investigations nationwide.

The joint investigation task forces currently operating under the Prosecution Service will transfer to five joint investigation divisions within the new agency, covering voice phishing, financial crime, virtual assets, narcotics and national fiscal crime. Personnel seconded from financial regulators and the National Tax Service, who previously worked alongside prosecutors, have also been incorporated into the agency's organizational structure.

Dedicated units for crimes against socially vulnerable victims will also be established at headquarters and each regional office to handle supplementary investigations into cases referred by police. Under the new criminal justice framework, the agency will be able to conduct supplementary probes — at a public prosecutor's request — into certain cases initially investigated by police. The seven crime categories covered are child abuse, domestic violence, sex crimes, child sex crimes, stalking, abuse of people with disabilities and elder abuse. Legislation granting the agency supplementary investigative authority over these offenses has yet to be drafted.

"Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure will allow the agency to conduct supplementary investigations, at a prosecutor's request, into cases involving crimes against socially vulnerable people investigated by other agencies," Kim said. "We will ensure there are no gaps in protecting the rights and interests of the socially vulnerable."

How many prosecutors will transfer? First director also a key question

Sitting prosecutors and prosecution investigators will be eligible for a special transfer to the new agency without a separate examination until April 30 next year. Prosecutors who move to the new organization will be appointed at Grade 1 if they hold the rank of district prosecutor general, Grade 2 for deputy or senior prosecutors, Grade 3 for prosecutors with 10 or more years of experience, and Grade 4 for those with fewer than 10 years.

The agency's launch preparation team will hold employment briefings for prosecutors and prosecution investigators at 18 district prosecutors offices nationwide through Wednesday. Applications from those wishing to transfer will be accepted afterward.

Outside specialists — including police officers, lawyers and accountants — will also be able to join the agency, though they must go through a competitive mid-career hiring process. The plan is to first secure personnel from the Prosecution Service and then pursue mid-career recruitment to fill any remaining gaps.

The selection of the agency's inaugural director is also drawing attention. "Since the director must go through a confirmation hearing, we will proceed with the selection in line with the opening schedule," Kim said.

The agency's offices will be housed in private commercial buildings rather than existing government facilities. The launch preparation team said it had continuously reviewed available state-owned properties in each region but found no suitable vacant government buildings. As a result, the headquarters and Seoul regional office will be located in the Renaissance Square building in Jung-gu, Seoul. Regional offices in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon have also selected private buildings.

"I do not foresee any major problems with the headquarters and the Seoul office — which will absorb 50 percent of investigative staff — being up and running by the Oct. 2 opening date, but I cannot say I am completely confident," Kim said, adding that the regional offices would also be brought online by year's end, even if their launches are somewhat incomplete.


arin@heraldcorp.com