With the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) set for Oct., the launch preparation task force (preparation task force below) will move into the Changseong-dong annex of the Government Complex Seoul. Over the next six months, the preparation task force is expected to accelerate preparations for the SCIA's launch, including organization and staffing, securing office space, and building the investigation system.
According to legal sources on the 13th, the preparation task force is scheduled to move into the Changseong-dong annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, Seoul, at the end of this month. The presidential office, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Prosecutorial Reform Promotion Team under the Office for Government Policy Coordination are currently housed in the Changseong-dong annex. The preparation task force will share the 4th floor of the annex with the presidential office.
The SCIA is a new agency dedicated to investigations that will take over the prosecution's investigative functions, which will be abolished on Oct. 2 under the amended Government Organization Act. With a staff of 3,000, it is expected to handle about 20,000 investigations annually.
On the 8th, the government enacted and issued the Regulation on the Establishment and Operation of the SCIA Launch Preparation Task Force. Under the regulation, the preparation task force will oversee the entire pre-launch process for the SCIA, from enacting and revising related laws and regulations to organizational design, staffing, handover of duties from the prosecution, securing office space, budgeting, and building the investigation system. It will operate for one year until the end of Apr. next year.
The Director General of the preparation task force will be the Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The deputy head will be designated by the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) from among prosecutors belonging to the Ministry of Justice or the Prosecution Service, or private-sector experts in prosecutorial investigations and criminal justice.
The preparation task force is currently reviewing several options for the location of the SCIA headquarters. With the SCIA expected to have as many as 3,000 staff, it is said to be weighing multiple candidates. It is also reportedly considering establishing the headquarters not only in Seoul but in Sejong.
The Public Prosecution Agency, which will be launched together with the SCIA in Oct. this year, is likely to continue using the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho District, Seoul as is. The Public Prosecution Agency will inherit the prosecution's indictment function. A government official said, "Having the Public Prosecution Agency use the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building as is is being reviewed as the most efficient option."