This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report site at 3:51 p.m. on July 14, 2026.
The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, which launches on Oct. 2, is effectively in a position where it must build its main website in just over two months. Considering the bidding and contractor selection process, the actual development period is expected to be even shorter. Given the tight schedule, the industry predicted that core functions would be opened first, followed by stabilization and enhancements. In politics, there are signs of opinions suggesting delaying the launch of the agency by one year to secure sufficient preparation time.
◇ "Open first, supplement later is inevitable"
According to legal sources, the launch preparation team for the agency posted a bid notice on the 10th for the project to build the agency's main website. It will accept proposals and price bids from the 16th to the 21st and evaluate proposals on the 23rd. After negotiations with the preferred bidder, it plans to select the final contractor. Because the exception for large corporate participation restrictions does not apply, small and medium-sized enterprises registered as software businesses can participate in the bidding.
The problem is whether the website can be built without a hitch with less than three months left until the agency's launch. According to the request for proposals, the agency plans to create a single platform for the headquarters and six regional investigation agency websites. It also plans to implement functions such as filing civil petitions through the e-People portal, searching cases and notices in the Korea Information System of Criminal Justice Services (KICS), and disclosing crime statistics.
The industry believes that, given the tight schedule, it has no choice but to implement core functions before the Oct. 2 launch and then continue stabilization and enhancements.
An IT industry official said, "It's tight, but if we use artificial intelligence (AI) development tools, meeting the deadline is possible," but added, "That's only on the premise that development proceeds as planned without additional requirements or variables, and the problem is that in real projects, requirements often change or are added." The official went on, "The agency's website is a service for the public, and it's questionable whether opening first and stabilizing later is appropriate."
◇ People Power Party: "Launch of the agency should be delayed by one year"
The reason the construction schedule has become tight is that the legal basis for preparing the agency's opening was only put in place this year. Although the Government Organization Act was amended in Oct. last year to confirm Oct. 2 this year as the launch date, the law defining the agency's organization and duties was not promulgated until Mar. this year. The launch preparation team was formed on Apr. 30, leaving only about five months for full-scale preparation.
Within the limited time, the launch preparation team is simultaneously handling preparations for the office building, network, and website. It recently finalized the buildings that will house the agency headquarters and the Seoul office, and, after legal advice on the lease agreement, decided to sign the contract by Aug. 7. For the case-processing network construction project, it signed a contract last month with LG CNS(LG CNS(064400)) and plans to develop core functions before the opening.
However, as preparations for a nationwide investigative body to investigate serious crimes proceed on a tight schedule, concerns are being raised about the operational burden in the early phase of the launch. This is the backdrop for the People Power Party's policy to introduce a party bill delaying the implementation of the agency and the Public Prosecution Service by one year.
A Director General-level prosecutor at a district prosecutors' office handling financial and tax crimes said, "As of Oct. 2, it isn't even clear whether crime victims should go to the police or the agency," adding, "The same will be true for investigators who will work at the agency. Considerable confusion is expected."