Ministry of Justice Launches Public Officials Personnel Information Management Unit... Related Presidential Decree and Enforcement Rules Promulgated

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Ministry of Justice's Public Official Personnel Information Management Unit, which has taken over the personnel verification function for public officials previously handled by the Blue House's Civil Affairs Office, officially launched on the 7th.

On the morning of the same day, the official gazette published two partial amendments to presidential decrees: the "Regulations on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc." and the "Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies," established to set up the Public Official Personnel Information Management Unit under the Minister of Justice. These amended presidential decrees took effect immediately upon promulgation.

The partial amendment to the "Regulations on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc." added the Minister of Justice, in addition to the existing Presidential Secretary, as an institution entrusted with some of the authority of the Minister of Personnel Innovation to collect and manage information on positions appointed or commissioned by the President (Article 10-2). It also allowed the Minister of Justice to process data containing resident registration numbers or foreigner registration numbers to perform such duties (Article 10-3).

The partial amendment to the "Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies" stipulated that under the Minister of Justice, in addition to one spokesperson, one inspector general, and two ministerial policy advisors, one head of the Personnel Information Management Unit shall be appointed (Article 4, Paragraph 2).

Furthermore, Article 4-4 (Head of the Personnel Information Management Unit) was newly established, designating the head as a prosecutor or a general service official belonging to the Senior Executive Service (Paragraph 1), and to assist the Minister of Justice in performing the entrusted authority under Article 10-2, Paragraph 1 of the "Regulations on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc." (Paragraph 2).

Additionally, the staffing regulations under Article 54 (Number of Officials in Affiliated Agencies) were revised in line with the launch of the Personnel Information Management Unit.

On the same day, the partial amendment to the Ministry of Justice's enforcement rules for the "Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies" was also promulgated.

The partial amendment to the enforcement rules newly established Article 1-4 (Head of the Personnel Information Management Unit), designating the head as a prosecutor or a general service official belonging to the Senior Executive Service, and if designated as such, the position's job grade shall be Grade B (Paragraph 1).

Under the head of the Personnel Information Management Unit, one Personnel Information Officer 1 and one Personnel Information Officer 2 shall be appointed (Paragraph 2). Personnel Information Officer 1 is designated as a prosecutor, while Personnel Information Officer 2 is designated as a deputy director, deputy chief prosecutor, secretary, or investigative secretary (Paragraph 3).

Personnel Information Officer 1 assists the head in matters related to the collection and management of social information such as crimes and academic background of public office candidates, while Personnel Information Officer 2 assists in the collection and management of economic information such as finance and taxation (Paragraphs 4 and 5).

The unit is composed of a total of 20 members, including one prosecutor or Senior Executive Service member, three prosecutors, one Grade 3 or 4 official, four Grade 4 or 5 officials, four Grade 4 officials, three Grade 7 officials, one Grade 8 official, one Grade 9 official, and two police inspectors.

The Ministry of Justice is expected to announce the specific appointments, including the head, within the day.

As previously announced, a non-prosecutor career civil servant is expected to be appointed as the head of the unit. It is anticipated that a Grade B (director-level) official from the Ministry of Personnel Innovation or the Board of Audit and Inspection will be selected.

Lee Dong-gyun, Chief of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (age 46, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 33), is a strong candidate for Personnel Information Officer 1.

Alongside him, Kim Hyun-woo, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at Changwon District Prosecutors' Office (class 36), and Kim Joo-hyun, Prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice's Policy Planning Division (class 36), who have been dispatched to and working with President Yoon Seok-yeol's transition team, are also expected to be involved in the unit's operations.

To guarantee the unit's independence, its office has been established not at the Gwacheon Government Complex but at the annex of the Board of Audit and Inspection in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Meanwhile, the first verification target of the Personnel Information Management Unit is likely to be the successor to Police Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong, whose term expires on the 23rd of next month.

In addition, as the Ministry of Justice takes charge of verification for the next Prosecutor General, Supreme Court Justices, and Constitutional Court Justices, concerns about the concentration of power are emerging.

Previously, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon stated that he would not receive interim reports related to public official personnel verification from the unit.

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