'Yeouido Jeoseungsaja' Financial Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Group Officially Launched

Cooperation Group Launch Ceremony at Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on the Morning of the 1st
'Revival' of the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit Seven Months After Abolition

The Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated securities and financial crimes, officially relaunched on the 1st after about a year and a half since its abolition, with a new name. The photo shows the building directory installed in the lobby of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office annex on that day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Financial Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Team (Cooperation Team), known as the "Grim Reaper of Yeouido," has officially launched. This comes about seven months after its predecessor, the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, was disbanded amid being stigmatized as a "hotbed of corruption."

On the 1st at 11 a.m., the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office held the Cooperation Team's inauguration ceremony at its annex, attended by the Prosecutor General, the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crime Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and representatives from the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, National Tax Service, Korea Exchange, and Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The Cooperation Team is expected to serve as a new investigative collaboration model, centered on an investigative team composed of prosecutors' investigators, special judicial police officers, and experts from related agencies who conduct direct investigations, while prosecutors handle prosecution, maintenance of public prosecution, investigative command during the investigation process, human rights protection, and judicial control.

In particular, through the cooperation of a large-scale team of experts including prosecutors, prosecutors' investigators, and special judicial police officers with specialized capabilities in financial and securities crime investigations, the capacity to respond to financial and securities crimes has been dramatically strengthened.

Additionally, by dividing roles between the investigative team's direct investigations, prosecutors' judicial control, and prosecution, the system ensures thorough human rights protection, introducing a new form of criminal justice system that guarantees substantive justice and procedural justice.

At the inauguration ceremony, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo stated, "Our country ranks 10th globally in stock market capitalization and the number of listed companies, so the fairness and transparency of the capital market order, befitting the global status of the financial industry, must be firmly supported." He added, "With the launch of the Cooperation Team, we expect prosecutors, investigators, and experts from related agencies to collaborate as 'One Team' to play a pivotal role in safeguarding the soundness of the capital market and establishing an advanced financial order."

The Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated securities and financial crimes, officially launched on the 1st after changing its name about a year and a half after being abolished. The photo shows preparations for the launch ceremony in the lobby of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office annex on the same day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Led by Director Park Sung-hoon (50, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 31), a certified public accountant, the Cooperation Team is a large-scale organization consisting of 46 members in total (5 prosecutors, 29 prosecutorial staff, and 12 staff from related agencies) with specialized investigative capabilities in financial and securities crimes, including prosecutors' investigators and special judicial police officers in the financial and securities fields.

The prosecutors in the Cooperation Team all possess expertise in the financial and securities sectors, having served in roles such as being seconded to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) or as senior prosecutors in the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's Financial Investigation Divisions 1 and 2.

The prosecutors' investigators are also specialized personnel with experience working in the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, the Financial Investigation Division, and the Special Investigation Division of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, with more than half having investigative experience in the Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit or the Financial Investigation Division.

Through this, the prosecution expects to secure the fairness and soundness of the capital market by responding swiftly and systematically to financial and securities crimes.

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