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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The former Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Division (now the Information Management Division), known as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the Prosecutor General and responsible for collecting and managing crime and investigation information, is on the path to revival. The Investigation Information Policy Division was a key organization that directly reported confidential information to the Prosecutor General in addition to investigations.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Justice dispatched experienced level 5 and 6 investigators in the field of crime and investigation information to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Information Management Division. However, it has been confirmed that discussions have not yet taken place regarding reorganizing the division back into the Investigation Information Policy Division by upgrading the current Information Management Officer position, held by a chief prosecutor level, to a deputy chief prosecutor level through a system reorganization.

The crime and investigation information collection unit within the prosecution was significantly downsized during the Moon Jae-in administration. The organization was reduced when it was restructured from the ‘Beomjeong’ (Crime Information Planning Office) to the Investigation Information Policy Division, and was further downgraded to the Information Management Division during the tenures of former Ministers of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Park Beom-gye.

In particular, former Minister Park redesigned the system to ensure checks and balances in information work by separating the tasks of investigation information generation, verification, and processing (investigation command). This led to the abolition of the Investigation Information Officer position and the bifurcation of the collection and verification functions of investigation information.

To this end, the Information Management Officer was newly established within the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to handle the collection, management, and analysis of investigation information generated by the office. The prosecution's information collection was reduced to focus only on investigation information related to crimes deemed difficult for prosecutors to initiate investigations on.

At the time of abolishing the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Officer, concerns were raised that splitting the investigation information line, which directly reported investigation-related information to the Prosecutor General, into collection and verification could lead to leaks of sensitive investigation information. Additionally, there were criticisms that the prosecution's capacity to investigate corruption and economic crimes could significantly decline due to the already minimized crime and investigation information functions.

Within the prosecution, there is a strong opinion that the crime and investigation information unit should be elevated to the level of a planning officer (deputy chief prosecutor). The common analysis is that investigations can proceed smoothly only when investigation and information work operate as one. However, since the ‘Criminal Investigation Limitation Act’ (Geomsu Wanbak Law), which limits the prosecution's direct investigations to corruption and economic crimes, will be implemented in September, cautious views emphasizing the need to monitor developments such as constitutional challenges to the law before making decisions are gaining traction.

On the other hand, both inside and outside the prosecution, there are reactions suggesting that an information department equivalent to the former Beomjeong might be effectively revived. Beomjeong, composed of elite investigators within the prosecution, was established in 1999 and played a positive role in collecting crime and investigation information and strictly punishing corruption and irregularities. However, it has also faced criticism for indiscriminately collecting crime and investigation information and conducting complaint-driven investigations.

Until now, many of the prosecution's cognizance investigations were based on information collected by Beomjeong, and such information inherently invites complaints, leaving room for personal interests to intervene.

A lawyer who is a former deputy chief prosecutor said, "Most prosecution investigations were initiated based on information collected by Beomjeong. While the structure where information leads to investigations may not be ideal, it is hard to criticize verified information leading to investigations."

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