The Return of the 'Yeouido Grim Reaper': Financial Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Unit

Prosecutors and Over 40 Others... Launching Tomorrow
"Limitations Due to Inability to Conduct Direct Investigations" Observed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Financial Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Team of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Cooperation Team) will officially launch on the 1st of next month. The Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit (Joint Investigation Unit), which was established in May 2013 and prosecuted over 1,000 securities crime offenders over seven years, earning the nickname "the Grim Reaper of Yeouido," has been revived under a new name. The Joint Investigation Unit was abolished last January during the tenure of former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, who labeled it a "hotbed of corruption," but it was reinstated in May when the Ministry of Justice undertook a major reorganization of the prosecution.

The Cooperation Team consists of about 40 members, including a team leader, prosecutors, investigators, and special judicial police officers. The team leader, Park Seong-hoon (age 50, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 31), who was appointed on the 2nd of last month, is a certified public accountant. He also holds a Level 2 Certified Specialist Prosecutor (Blue Belt) qualification in accounting analysis and fund tracing. He is well recognized as an expert in investigating financial securities crimes, having participated in the Joint Investigation Unit for Savings Bank Corruption and the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. A prosecution official stated, "The organization and personnel can continue to expand sufficiently in the future." The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has promised "special treatment" to prosecutors and investigators joining the Cooperation Team to secure outstanding talent. Those working in the Cooperation Team will immediately become eligible for special promotion and receive preferential treatment in performance evaluations and awards. The fact that they can work long-term for over five years at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office is also an advantage.

The reason the prosecution is empowering the Cooperation Team appears to be to make up for the inadequate response to financial securities crimes that have occurred so far. A lawyer who is a former chief prosecutor said, "There has been criticism inside and outside the prosecution that investigations into major cases related to Lime and Optimus funds during the period without the Cooperation Team were sluggish," adding, "The challenge is to overcome the limitations of the narrowed investigation scope due to cooperation with related agencies and the adjustment of investigative authority between prosecution and police." It also seems that they judged that many outstanding talents are needed in the Cooperation Team to properly respond to the recent large-scale, organized, and sophisticated financial and securities crimes. Frontline prosecutors also agreed that the diversification of crime methods, such as virtual currency, has made financial and securities crime investigations more difficult.

While there is anticipation for the revival of the former Joint Investigation Unit, there are also views that it will remain at the level of a "Cooperation Team" since it cannot conduct direct investigations. Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye also drew a line by stating, "This is not a revival of the Joint Investigation Unit." The launch ceremony will be attended by Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo along with Shim Jae-cheol, head of the Southern District Prosecutors' Office, among others.

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