Size and Structure of Serious Crime Investigation Office Finalized... How Much 'Prosecution Personnel' Will Join?

[Anchor]

The government has announced the staffing size, organizational structure, and appointment plans for the Serious Crime Investigation Office. Securing the investigative capabilities previously held by the prosecution is expected to be the first major test for the new agency.

Reporter Yun Nara has the details.

[Reporter]

The organizational structure and workforce size of the Serious Crime Investigation Office, which will launch to handle major crime investigations following the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office on October 2, have been finalized.

The office will consist of a headquarters and six regional offices, with a total staff of 2,874.

[Kim Min-jae / Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety: They will specialize in investigating seven major crimes designated by law, including corruption, economic crimes, defense acquisition, narcotics, national protection, cybercrime, and the crime of judicial distortion.]

To investigate crimes that heavily impact public livelihoods, such as voice phishing, joint investigation units receiving dispatched personnel from other agencies like the Financial Services Commission and the National Tax Service will be established in Seoul, Suwon, and Daejeon.

A special investigation team for crimes against vulnerable social groups will also be set up to handle supplementary investigations requested by prosecutors from the Prosecution Service.

Analysts suggest that securing existing prosecution personnel is the key for the Serious Crime Investigation Office to minimize initial investigation vacuums and secure expertise.

When asked whether they can fill the workforce before the October launch, a government official stated, "We cannot guarantee how many prosecutors will apply," adding only that "we will do our best."

To this end, the government has allowed prosecutors and prosecution investigators to be appointed to the Serious Crime Investigation Office without a separate exam on a temporary basis until April of next year.

It has also offered special exceptions granting incumbent prosecutors ranks equivalent to Grades 1 through 4, while maintaining their previous salaries and retirement ages.

Under this scheme, district prosecutors' office heads will be treated as Grade 1 investigators, deputy and senior prosecutors as Grade 2, prosecutors with 10 or more years of legal experience as Grade 3, and prosecutors with less than 10 years of experience as Grade 4 investigators.

If investigations are delayed due to a shortage of investigative personnel, the damage could ultimately fall on the general public.

[Baek Won-ki / President, Korean Association of Law Professors: When the investigative units are not yet formed and investigations cannot proceed, victims will have no choice but to wait if their damages cannot be remedied.]

In addition, guidelines for transferring cases currently under direct investigation by the prosecution and methods of cooperation with the Prosecution Service still need to be established.

(Video by Cho Choon-dong | Video Editing by Chang Hyun-ki)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.