A launch preparation team to support the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency will be launched on the 30th. The head of the launch preparation team will be Vice Minister Kim Min-jae of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the deputy head will be Lee Jin-yong, the second deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.
The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is a new organization created by a reform of the criminal justice system to separate investigation and indictment. It is scheduled to launch on Oct. 2 this year. The launch preparation team is a dedicated body to support the agency's stable launch.
The launch preparation team will be set up under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Vice Minister Kim Min-jae of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) will concurrently serve as Director General, and Lee Jin-yong, the second deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, will serve as deputy head. The organization will consist of three divisions—the General Affairs Division, the Investigation Operations Planning Division, and the Finance and Facilities Division—and will be operated with a total staff of 64.
Personnel will be seconded from related ministries and agencies, mainly the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Prosecution Service, and the Korean National Police Agency. In particular, it will be composed mainly of personnel with hands-on investigative experience, such as investigators, to support uninterrupted investigative work even after the agency launches.
The launch preparation team has four main tasks. First, it will establish the institutional foundation for operating the agency. It will streamline working regulations such as laws and rules related to the agency, and build the necessary systems for operations, including investigative procedures and interagency cooperation frameworks.
It will also design the agency's detailed organizational structure, staffing standards, and personnel regulations, and handle the recruitment of civil servants who will work at the agency. It will prepare the transfer of cases and investigative capabilities previously handled by existing investigative bodies. It plans to establish procedures and measures for transferring cases and criminal information, build case-handling processes such as warrant applications and case referrals, and prepare the phased transfer of personnel and expertise in key investigative fields, including anti-corruption, economic crimes, narcotics, and forensic science.
In addition, it will build the operational foundation for the agency, including office buildings and information systems. It will secure and remodel headquarters and regional office buildings, create investigation facilities and workspaces, and establish electronic systems necessary for operations, such as the Korea Information System of Criminal Justice Services (KICS), an electronic approval system, and a website.
Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), said, "Preparations for establishing the agency have entered full swing," adding, "We will do our best to protect the rights and interests of the public and to ensure the agency takes root as an investigative body trusted by the people."