Choi Jae-min Named Seoul Serious Crime Investigation Agency Chief, Jeon Jong-min as Deputy Chief; Im Eun-jung Appointed for Gwangju

Choi Jae-min, a lawyer with a prosecutorial background, is set to be appointed as the head of the Seoul office of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), which officially launches tomorrow (the 2nd), while Jeon Jong-min, a lawyer with a judicial background, is set to serve as the agency's deputy chief.

Im Eun-jung, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, has been selected to head the Gwangju SCIA.

At its launch, the SCIA will begin operations with 1,900 personnel, which accounts for 66.1 percent of its total authorized capacity. The Korea Information System for Criminal Justice Services (KICS) will also be partially operated focusing on essential functions first before a full rollout in early December.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced its first personnel appointments for the SCIA, naming candidates for seven grade-1 investigator positions, including the deputy chief and regional SCIA heads.

Choi Jae-min (55, 30th Judicial Research and Training Institute), the nominee for the inaugural Seoul SCIA chief, is a former prosecutor.

A graduate of Wuhak High School in North Gyeongsang Province and Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Law, he has directed frontline investigations as the first deputy chief prosecutor of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office and the second deputy chief prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.

He left the prosecution service in 2023 after serving as the head of the Inspection Department at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and has since practiced under his own law office.

Jeon Jong-min (59, 24th term), nominated as deputy chief of SCIA headquarters, is a former judge.

A graduate of Konkuk University High School and Seoul National University's Department of Judicial Affairs, he has served as a judge at the Chuncheon District Court, Uijeongbu District Court, and Seoul Administrative Court.

He left the bench in 2006 and has worked as an attorney at the law firm KnC.

Kim Hyung-geun, an attorney at the law firm Hyeonggeun & Im Jong-pil and a former prosecutor, has been nominated as the head of the Suwon SCIA.

Kim (57, 29th term) graduated from Sunduk High School in Seoul and Korea University's Department of Law.

He has served as a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and head of the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.

He also served as an assistant independent counsel in cases involving the state affairs scandal and illegal election interference.

Moon Hong-joo (58, 31st term), a lawyer with a judicial background, has been nominated to lead the Daejeon SCIA.

He graduated from Insung High School in Gwangju and Seoul National University's Department of International Economics.

Moon served as an assistant independent counsel in the state affairs scandal and election interference cases, and previously worked as a presiding judge at the Suwon Family Court.

After passing through the law firms Aram and Hanbeak, he has been practicing as a lawyer at the law firm Ilson.

Hong Jong-hee (59, 29th term), auditor at the Korea Legal Aid Foundation of the Korean Bar Association, has been selected to head the Daegu SCIA.

She graduated from Jeonnam Girls' High School and Seoul National University's Department of Judicial Affairs.

She has accumulated extensive investigative experience serving as the deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, and the second deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.

Kim Ki-wook (56, 33st term), a former judge who has worked as a lawyer at the law firm Jeongryul, has been designated as the head of the Busan SCIA.

A graduate of Sorabol High School in Seoul and Kyung Hee University's Department of Law, he has experience serving as a judge at the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court and the Gangneung Branch of the Chuncheon District Court.

Im Eun-jung (52, 30th term), Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, has been chosen to lead the Gwangju SCIA.

A graduate of Namsung Girls' High School in Busan and Korea University's Department of Law, she has served as head prosecutor of the Major Economic Crime Investigation Division at the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office and the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, respectively.

She has also worked as an inspection officer for the Ministry of Justice.

Among the seven grade-1 investigators nominated this time, including the SCIA deputy chief, four have backgrounds in the prosecution service—including Chief Prosecutor Im—while three have judicial backgrounds.

The balanced distribution between former prosecutors and judges stands out.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated that candidates were selected through open recruitment and special appointments by comprehensively considering the experience and expertise required for each position, and they are scheduled to be appointed on the opening day of the SCIA following the relevant procedures.


At its initial launch, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will begin operations by filling 1,900 positions (provisional), or 66.1 percent of the total authorized capacity of 2,874.

Final headcounts will be confirmed after appointment procedures are completed.

Looking at the current status of filled personnel against authorized capacity by headquarters and regional offices, the Busan office is the highest at 74.2 percent.

Conversely, the Gwangju office recorded the lowest at 58.3 percent.

Other offices follow in order: Seoul at 68.9 percent, Daegu at 65.5 percent, Suwon at 63.6 percent, headquarters at 63.1 percent, and Daejeon at 60.2 percent.

Unfilled positions are planned to be filled through career-open recruitment targeting external experts such as police officers, lawyers, and accountants.

To this end, a collaborative task force (TF) involving related organizations such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the SCIA will be formed to push forward the career recruitment procedures.

In addition, considering future personnel operation conditions, additional special appointments for prosecution service personnel will also be reviewed.

According to the SCIA Act, special appointments for personnel from the prosecution service are available until April 30, 2027.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety also released its stance regarding preparations for the opening of the SCIA, which have previously been criticized as sluggish.

The ministry decided to first secure essential office space, work networks, and internet networks required for civil petitions, investigations, and administrative tasks by the opening on the 2nd, while wrapping up the construction of other office environments within the year.

In addition, in consultation with the Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice, detention centers and correctional facilities near each regional SCIA will be designated and operated as detention facilities for suspects under custody for serious crimes.

For the Seoul SCIA, police station detention cells will utilize Suseo, Seongdong, and Seocho Police Stations, while the correctional facility will use the Nambu Detention Center.

The Korea Information System for Criminal Justice Services (KICS) will first launch essential functions such as receiving, accepting, and allocating transfers of serious crime cases on the 2nd, while remaining functions such as case processing will be launched in the second phase in early December.

The government has drawn up a total of 472.4 billion won in the budget bill for 2027 required for serious crime investigations and submitted it to the National Assembly.

Of the total budget, labor costs account for 229.9 billion won, project expenses 217.3 billion won, and basic operational expenses 25.2 billion won.

The budget required for institutional operations in the fourth quarter of this year is planned to be transferred from the Prosecutors' Office for use.

The SCIA Opening Preparation Team will hold an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on the 2nd at the SCIA headquarters located in ReneSquare, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Attendees on the day of the event will include about 120 people, including Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung, National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee Chairman Kim Young-jin, Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairman Seo Young-kyo, National Court Administration Director Noh Kyung-pil, Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Chief Oh Dong-un, and SCIA executives and staff.

Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety and head of the SCIA Opening Preparation Team, stated, "We will do our best to ensure that the SCIA establishes itself as a competent and trusted specialized investigative agency that investigates fairly and effectively according to law and principle, and protects the lives of the people."

Taking over major investigative functions from the abolished Prosecutors' Office, the SCIA will exclusively handle investigations into seven major serious crimes: corruption, economic crimes, defense acquisition crimes, narcotics, state protection crimes, cybercrimes, and the crime of law distortion.

(Photo: Provided by each law firm, provided by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.