At a National Assembly hearing on the bill to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (Jungsu-cheong), critics said the government plan could undermine the independence of investigative bodies. They noted that while the agency is being pursued to separate prosecutorial investigative authority, the structure placing it under the direction of the Minister of the Interior and Safety could make it more vulnerable to political interference.
The National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee held a legislative hearing on the 11th at the National Assembly on the bill to establish the agency. The committee the previous day referred four bills on creating the agency to the full session, including the government plan; proposals by Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Min Hyung-bae and Lee Yong-woo; and a proposal by Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha.
At the hearing, experts repeatedly raised concerns about the government plan. The government said it revised problems by reflecting some views from the legal community, but speakers said even the amended version still had many problems.
Jeon Hong-gyu, managing attorney at Haerang, pointed to the Minister of the Interior and Safety's authority to direct and supervise the agency. Jeon said, "The reason for separating the Prosecution Service from the Ministry of Justice is to block political pressure, but giving the Minister of the Interior and Safety the power to direct the agency raises concerns of repeated, administration-tailored investigations," adding, "The National Office of Investigation (NOI) does not have specific investigative command authority, so recognizing it only for the new agency is inconsistent with fairness."
Concerns were also raised about converting incumbent prosecutors into investigators at the new agency. Cha Jin-a, a professor at Korea University School of Law, said, "Telling prosecutors to work as investigators without regard to their established status and authority is no different from saying they are not welcome, and if investigations cannot proceed properly as a result, the harm ultimately falls on the public."
They also cited a lack of legal clarity and fairness issues in the structure for recommending candidates for the agency's chief. Song Young-hoon, a partner at Siwoo, said, "The law itself does not even minimally define the conceptual scope of the 'six major crimes' to be investigated by the agency, instead vaguely delegating it to a presidential decree," adding, "Compared with the Prosecutors' Office Act and the CIO Act, this significantly reduces institutional predictability."
Song said, "If just one of the following—president of the Korean Bar Association, president of the Korean Association of Law Professors, or chair of the Law School Association—leans pro-government or pro-ruling party, the structure makes it easy to appoint a chief aligned with the administration's preferences," adding, "The provisions need to be redesigned so that candidates for the agency's chief who can ensure political neutrality are recommended."
The committee plans to begin reviewing the bill on the afternoon of the 11th.