[Exclusive] Public Corruption Investigation Office Faces Staff Shortage in Administrative Positions... Requests Dispatch to Cities and Provinces Nationwide

Request for Grade 5 and 6 Administrative Staff in 16 Metropolitan Governments... "Burden of Dispatching to Newly Established Organizations," Refusal to Dispatch Except Gwangju City

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gong-su-cheo) is facing an administrative staff shortage following its investigation personnel shortage. Unlike prosecutors and investigators, the general staff have filled 90% of their quota, but due to excessive workload, they ultimately requested personnel dispatch from metropolitan local governments nationwide. However, so far, only one location has approved the dispatch, and disruptions in administrative work are expected for the time being.

According to the legal community on the 11th, Gong-su-cheo recently sent official letters simultaneously to 16 cities and provinces nationwide, excluding Jeju Island, requesting the dispatch of administrative officers. They requested a total of three personnel: two level 5 and one level 6 officers to handle general affairs such as service, security, and accounting. The dispatch period was set for one year.

The general staff quota at Gong-su-cheo is 20 people. Currently, only the spokesperson and human rights inspector positions are vacant, with the rest already assigned and performing their duties. However, as a newly established independent investigative agency different from government ministries, the workload for general staff is also considerable. Accepting internal suggestions, last month they requested job dispatch to cities and provinces nationwide to minimize administrative system gaps during the initial launch through their experience.

However, it has been confirmed that only one place has approved the dispatch to Gong-su-cheo. Gwangju Metropolitan City decided earlier this month, after a 'pre-consultation on separate quota,' to dispatch a level 5 administrative officer from the accounting department and officially notified Gong-su-cheo on the 8th.

Among the remaining 15 locations, 10 refused the Gong-su-cheo dispatch. The other five stated they are undergoing internal deliberations and discussions, but considering that the dispatch request deadline initially set by Gong-su-cheo has long passed, it is difficult to expect additional dispatches. A metropolitan local government official revealed, "According to the Local Public Officials Act and Appointment Decree, dispatch support can be provided for close cooperation between agencies, but the reality is that there are no applicants due to the burden of being dispatched to a newly established organization."

The legal community also cites the shortage of prosecutors and investigators as one of the causes. In administrative work, where coordination with the investigation part is inevitable, the lack of investigative personnel has ultimately affected the administrative part as well.

The absence of the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS), which computerizes investigative work and supports information linkage with related agencies, is also pointed out. According to internal Gong-su-cheo documents, the lack of KICS causes delays in case processing, administrative inefficiency, and difficulties in performing duties. Case processing and inter-agency data exchange are done manually, making it difficult to handle tasks quickly and accurately or to grasp the progress of investigations.

The problem is that Gong-su-cheo's personnel shortage is unlikely to be resolved in the short term. The prosecutor quota at Gong-su-cheo is 23 people excluding Director Kim Jin-wook and Deputy Director Yeo Woon-guk, but only 13 personnel have been secured so far. The investigator shortage is even more severe. Of the 40 quota, fewer than 20 have been selected internally.

Moreover, Gong-su-cheo announced plans to conduct additional recruitment to fill the remaining prosecutor positions, but considering that some investigators dispatched from the prosecution have expressed their intention not to extend their dispatch period, the gap in investigative capacity is bound to be prolonged. A legal community official said, "Starting with the first investigation, the scope of investigations is continuously expanding, but with the current personnel, there is a high risk of investigation gaps and poor investigations," adding, "Ultimately, the ongoing personnel shortage will continue to hamper Gong-su-cheo."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.