Security Vulnerabilities at Private Building Office Raises Concerns for Busan Serious Crime Investigation Office's 'Unstable Start'

Concerns are being raised regarding security as the Busan branch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, set to launch in October, will be housed in a private building that also accommodates commercial stores and general offices.

In addition, issues concerning its distance from the courts and prosecutors' offices, as well as difficulties in securing personnel, have presented multiple challenges even before its launch.

According to the legal community and other sources on the 31st, the Busan branch plans to lease and use nine floors of the First World Brighton building in Myeongji-dong, Gangseo-gu, Busan.

The 23-story building also houses the Gangseo Tax Office, the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Authority, general offices, and commercial facilities.

As a result, critics point out that the Busan branch will have to share certain facilities, such as parking lots and elevators, with other tenants and commercial patrons, making it difficult to completely separate the routes of individuals involved in cases from the outside.

The Serious Crime Investigation Agency is an organization that investigates major crimes such as corruption, economic crimes, drug offenses, defense acquisition crimes, national security crimes, and cybercrimes. A high level of security is required not only to protect the identities of suspects and witnesses, but also to manage seized items and investigative records.

However, critics note that if the movements of suspects or witnesses entering and leaving are exposed, ongoing investigations could be leaked to the outside, and security issues could also arise during the process of transferring major seized evidence.

In particular, some opinions suggest that since the continuity of the transport and storage process after seizure and whether the original evidence has been tampered with can become key issues in future trials, separate entry routes and independent storage spaces must be established.

In response, the preparation team stated that it will consult with the landlord to separate the other tenant facilities from the Serious Crime Investigation Agency space as much as possible.

The location, which is far from the courts and prosecutors' offices, is also being cited as a problem.

The scheduled site for the Busan branch is about 31 kilometers away from the legal town in Yeonje-gu, where the Busan District Court, Busan High Court, and Busan District Prosecutors' Office are clustered.

Critics point out that considering investigators from the Serious Crime Investigation Agency must consult with prosecutors from the Prosecution Service and respond to court warrant reviews and trials, increased travel time could reduce work efficiency.

Securing personnel is also cited as another challenge for the Busan branch.

The Serious Crime Investigation Agency's preparation team will tour 18 prosecutors' offices nationwide, starting next month on the 5th with the Busan, Jeju, Changwon, and Gwangju district prosecutors' offices, to hold appointment briefing sessions targeting prosecutors and investigators.

While the Serious Crime Investigation Agency is prioritizing the transfer of prosecutors and prosecutors' investigators to utilize existing investigative experience, forecasts suggest it may be difficult to fill all initial quotas due to a lukewarm response within the prosecution.

In a survey conducted by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office last year targeting prosecution members, only 7 out of 910 responding prosecutors—or 0.8%—expressed a desire to work at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency.

Prosecutors transferring to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency are expected to relinquish their status as prosecutors and convert to general public officials under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

It is known that the government is also reviewing a plan to launch the Serious Crime Investigation Agency with preferentially secured personnel and then supplement the insufficient quota in stages.

An official in the Busan legal community said, "To ensure that the Busan branch can function normally from the early stages of its launch, it must secure security facilities and personnel, and also prepare concrete measures for operational coordination with the Prosecution Service and the courts."

(Photo: Captured from Naver Maps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.