The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 24th that the promulgation bill of the Act on the Organization and Operation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office (Serious Crimes Office Act) passed the Cabinet meeting.
With the Serious Crimes Office Act passing the Cabinet meeting that day, the Prosecution Service, which has been maintained for 78 years, is set to be abolished. The government has been pushing the Serious Crimes Office Act along with the Public Prosecution Office Act as part of prosecution reform.
According to the Serious Crimes Office Act passed by the Cabinet that day, the Serious Crimes Investigation Office will be launched as an agency exclusively investigating serious crimes that cause significant harm to the public interest or have negative effects nationwide.
Major serious crimes include: ▲ economic crimes such as large-scale corruption, fraud, stock price manipulation, and unfair trading ▲ leakage of industrial technology ▲ disclosure of military secrets ▲ manufacture and distribution of narcotics ▲ cybercrimes attacking national key infrastructure such as energy and information and communications ▲ concealment of criminal proceeds ▲ the crime of distorting the law.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said it clearly defined in law the targets of serious-crime investigations to ensure public predictability and legal stability.
The Serious Crimes Investigation Office will be launched as a central administrative agency centered on investigators, including the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office. Under the duties and organization stipulated in the Serious Crimes Office Act, it will have the status of an independent investigative body. Investigators belonging to the office will be required to maintain stricter political neutrality than general civil servants, including a ban on political involvement, and they cannot be seconded to or concurrently hold positions at the Public Prosecution Office.
To enhance the investigative capacity of the organization, measures will be introduced to support investigator education, training, and self-development, and to guarantee the treatment of incumbent prosecutors and prosecution investigators.
The head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office will be granted the authority to transfer cases and to request transfers. This is to concentrate national investigative capacity on serious crimes and to prevent overlapping investigations and confusion among investigative agencies. Specific transfer procedures, target crimes, and other details will be stipulated in subordinate regulations.
Generally, the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will direct and supervise the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and its staff, and, for specific cases, will direct and supervise only the head of the office. Through an investigation deliberation committee composed of up to 200 Commissioners, the appropriateness and legality of the office's investigations will be reviewed, and continuous and systematic verification of the office's investigations will be carried out.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) plans to push follow-up procedures for the launch of the office in October this year. In connection with future discussions on the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, it plans to prepare subordinate regulations within the first half of the year, including investigative rules for mutual cooperation among investigative agencies and the organization of the office. It also plans to prepare various arrangements, such as building a criminal justice system, securing office space, and obtaining a budget, to ensure there are no setbacks to the launch of the office.
Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), said, "With the separation of investigation and prosecution, the Serious Crimes Office Act and the Public Prosecution Office Act have been enacted, faithfully embodying the grand principles of remedying the rights of the people and guaranteeing human rights," and added, "We will do our best in the preparations for the launch so that it can establish itself as an investigative agency trusted by the public."