SCIA to Launch Full-Scale Preparations Without Using Prosecutors' Office Buildings (Comprehensive)

A pan-government organization has begun full-fledged activities to prepare for the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), which is scheduled to be established in October.

View of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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According to the government and other sources on the 28th, the pan-government organization named the "SCIA Establishment Preparation Task Force" will open its office on April 30 in the annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Changseong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and commence its work.

The task force consists of a total of 64 members, mainly from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the prosecution. Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Minjae will serve as the head of the task force, while Lee Jinyong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (35th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), will serve as the deputy head.

Vice Minister Kim will oversee not only the SCIA preparation but also the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's planning, organization, AI government, autonomy, and local finance operations. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee will supervise the task force's practical work. After completing the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Lee worked as a lawyer before being appointed as a prosecutor in 2009. He has served as chief of the Geochang Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, director of the Human Rights Investigation Division at the Ministry of Justice, head of the Tax Crime Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. He is known for his expertise in investigation and planning.

From the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 15 officials, mainly from the Government Complex Management Office, will be dispatched to the task force. More than 30 prosecutors and investigators from the prosecution will also join in preparing for the SCIA's launch.

Choi Soo-eun, planning director (38th class) at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who has extensive experience in HR and planning work through positions at the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Division and the Personnel Information Management Division, will also join. As she is regarded as a planning expert, she is expected to be in charge of HR and budget affairs for the SCIA. In addition, seven members from the National Police Agency, as well as officials from the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, will join the task force.

The task force will undertake overall preparations for the SCIA over approximately five months until the official opening on October 2, including securing office space, recruitment, investigation procedures, and establishing internal operating systems. There is also discussion about setting up a separate public relations team within the task force to release updates on the preparations to the media.

The aspect drawing the most attention regarding the preparations is the office location. Since the SCIA will essentially inherit the prosecution's investigative functions, there was speculation that it might use the existing prosecutor's offices. However, this option has been completely ruled out. In particular, it has been internally decided that the main SCIA office to be established in Seoul will not use the current offices of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the High Prosecutors' Office, or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

The likely plan is for the main SCIA office to lease a building initially and then move to a purpose-built office later. Two buildings in the Euljiro area of Seoul are being considered as temporary offices. However, for regional SCIA offices, it is still under consideration whether to use existing prosecutor's offices or to find and move into private buildings.

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