Serious Crime Investigation Office and Police Push to Form Special Investigation Headquarters for Martial Law Probe

The Serious Crime Investigation Office and the police are pushing to establish a special investigation headquarters dedicated to probing cases related to the December 3 emergency martial law.

According to officials from the Serious Crime Investigation Office and the police today (November 5), the two agencies are discussing personnel composition, location, and other logistical details to launch the special investigation unit.

The Serious Crime Investigation Office is considering dispatching a senior official at the regional bureau director level, who is a former prosecutor, to the special unit.

It has been reported that Senior Superintendent Kang Il-gu, who has led the dedicated investigation team handling remaining cases following the disbandment of the National Police Agency's special investigation headquarters for cases handed over by the three independent counsels, is expected to be dispatched to the unit.

The head of the special investigation headquarters has not yet been finalized, and options such as a joint leadership between the official dispatched from the Serious Crime Investigation Office and Senior Superintendent Kang are under review.

As the Serious Crime Investigation Office has only been open for about a month and its office building is currently undergoing interior construction, the special unit is expected to be set up either at a police facility or a third-party location.

The special investigation headquarters will be tasked with investigating overall martial law-related cases, as well as remaining cases previously handed over by the three independent counsels and the second comprehensive independent counsel.

The National Police Agency's dedicated investigation team, which took over the remaining cases from the three independent counsels, has concluded 121 cases—including sending 16 cases to prosecutors—over a period of about eight months, and is currently investigating four cases, including allegations related to Moomin Valley in Uiwang.

Separately, the police received 46 unprocessed cases from the second comprehensive independent counsel, whose investigation concluded in August, and are currently reviewing the case records.

The establishment of a special investigation headquarters to carry out long-term investigations into the December 3 emergency martial law was officially proposed in August of this year by Kwon Chang-young, head of the second comprehensive independent counsel, during his press conference announcing the investigation results.

At the time, Independent Counsel Kwon said, "It is appropriate to establish a special investigation headquarters with joint participation from various investigative agencies to continue systematic and long-term investigations in the form of a permanent organization."

It is known that President Lee Jae-myung subsequently reviewed the establishment of the special investigation unit, after which the Serious Crime Investigation Office and the police have been discussing its creation.

With the launch of the special investigation headquarters, various side effects are being concerned given that investigations will continue once again following lengthy probes by the martial law independent counsel and the second comprehensive independent counsel.

As the Serious Crime Investigation Office launched with only about 66 percent of its full staffing quota, dispatching investigators to the martial law special unit will inevitably worsen manpower shortages.

Some figures in political and legal circles view the special investigation headquarters as an effort to pressure Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who is effectively at odds with President Lee.

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