Prosecutors Filling 'Shortage' at Corruption Investigation Office, Speeding Up Investigations by Easing Staffing Shortages

10 Investigative Prosecutors Followed by 15 Investigators Selected... Filling Investigation Personnel to Focus on Current Cases

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) is set to reinforce its investigative personnel in the second half of the year. This move aims to accelerate investigations by filling vacancies in prosecutors, investigators, and administrative staff amid ongoing manpower shortages. A bill to expand HCIA's administrative personnel has also been proposed in the National Assembly, signaling potential changes in organizational operations in the latter half of the year.

According to the legal community on the 15th, HCIA will begin selecting a total of 10 investigative prosecutors, including 2 senior prosecutors and 8 junior prosecutors, starting today.

Applicants for HCIA senior prosecutors and junior prosecutors must have held lawyer qualifications for at least 12 years and 7 years, respectively. The term of office is three years, with the possibility of renewal up to three times. Earlier, HCIA conducted prosecutor recruitment in the first half of the year but appointed only 13, falling short of the quota. If the planned 10 additional appointments are made this time, the full quota of 25 prosecutors, including the chief and deputy chief, will be filled.

There are also differences from the first half recruitment process. HCIA has decided to give preference to applicants with at least three years of investigative experience in investigative agencies. This measure was taken considering the low number of former prosecutors applying during the first half recruitment. HCIA had previously faced internal and external criticism for lacking investigative experience and had sent selected prosecutors to the Judicial Research and Training Institute for nearly a month, revealing limitations in managing investigative personnel.

After the first round of investigative prosecutor selection is completed, HCIA will proceed with recruiting investigators. In February, HCIA held a public recruitment for 30 investigators, attracting 293 applicants, but ultimately appointed only 18. The current recruitment targets 15 positions left unfilled from that round: 2 prosecutorial administrative officers (Grade 5), 7 prosecutorial clerks (Grade 6), and 6 prosecutorial assistant clerks (Grade 7). For the vacant Grade 4 senior administrative officer (section chief) positions, such as case management officer and investigation division chief, internal promotions are reportedly being considered.

There is also a variable in HCIA's personnel management. A bill to expand HCIA's staffing was proposed in the National Assembly yesterday. The main point is to increase administrative personnel from the current 20 to 60. HCIA is experiencing manpower shortages and has requested the dispatch of administrative officers to 16 cities and provinces nationwide to bolster its workforce.

HCIA expects to accelerate ongoing investigations once the recruitment process for the second half is completed. For example, in HCIA's first case, the 'illegal special hiring of dismissed teachers' involving Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, no suspect summons investigation has been conducted, and the case involving former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has stalled at the registration stage. The 'illegal travel ban on former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui' case has been under review for four months.

A legal community official stated, "As the number of cases received by HCIA steadily increases, the lack of investigative personnel could lead to misunderstandings of inadequate or delayed investigations," adding, "In the second half, HCIA is expected to focus on securing experienced investigators and immediately deploy them to ongoing investigations."

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