Senior ruling party-government meeting held at prime minister's residence in Samcheong-dong

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook poses for a photo with Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and other attendees at a senior ruling party-government meeting held Sunday at the prime minister's Seoul residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu. [Yonhap]
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook poses for a photo with Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and other attendees at a senior ruling party-government meeting held Sunday at the prime minister's Seoul residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu. [Yonhap]

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said Sunday that the soon-to-launch Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the new public prosecution office must serve as a foundation for preventing the abuse and concentration of authority while offering stronger protection to crime victims.

Kang made the remarks at a senior ruling party-government meeting held Sunday afternoon at the prime minister's residence in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. "The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the public prosecution office, launching Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 respectively, are an important outcome of prosecutorial reform — institutionalizing the principle of separating investigation from indictment," he said.

He urged officials to ensure both agencies are fully prepared to carry out their core functions from day one. "Please thoroughly review all organizational, personnel and systems matters so that a stable launch is guaranteed," he said.

Kang also stressed the need to listen more carefully to public concerns. "We must pay even closer attention to the worries of the people, and pursue necessary reforms and livelihood tasks without wavering," he said.

He also addressed a recent case in which a police officer attached to the Jeju Western Police Station was found to have falsely closed a missing persons report. "The ruling party, government and presidential office must work together to devise and swiftly implement a groundbreaking overhaul of the missing persons case management system, so that the anxieties of the public — including the families of missing persons — can be put to rest," he said.

The remarks came amid revelations of negligent handling and false case closures in the missing persons reporting process, signaling the government's intent to overhaul the entire missing persons response system.

Kang said the incident went beyond a single officer's unlawful conduct. "This case has laid bare, all at once, a range of longstanding problems in how police handle missing persons cases — including poor management of the missing persons profiling system, the practice of closing cases after non-face-to-face confirmation, and inadequate notification to guardians," he said.

He also cited figures showing that of missing persons cases in 2025, 1,050 were found dead, and 931 of them — or 88.7 percent — were adults. "Unlike missing children, tracking the location of missing adults is restricted, and calls have been raised for legislative amendments to enable faster searches," he said.

On measures to stabilize livelihoods ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Kang said the government had mobilized all available resources and secured additional funding for a program subsidizing discounts on essential goods. He said 193 billion won would be invested in the program — a sharp increase from 90 billion won the previous year. "Please closely monitor the program's progress and make every effort to ensure full execution, including through cooperation with retailers such as supermarkets and active promotion of the program," he said.


sang@heraldcorp.com