South Korea launches task force to prepare Major Crimes Investigation Agency opening

Exterior view of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. [Photo=Yonhap]

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Thursday it has launched an opening preparation team to support the planned October start of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency.

The team is a dedicated unit meant to ensure a stable launch of the new agency, which is to be created on Oct. 2 as part of a broader overhaul of the criminal justice system aimed at separating investigations from prosecutions.

The preparation team will be housed within the Interior Ministry. Vice Minister Kim Min-jae will serve as head, and Lee Jin-yong, second deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors Office, will be deputy head. It will have three divisions — general affairs, investigative practice planning, and finance and facilities — with a staff of 64.

Officials will be seconded mainly from the Justice Ministry and the Interior Ministry, as well as the prosecution and the National Police Agency. The ministry said the team will be built around personnel with hands-on investigative experience, including investigators, to help ensure continuity of casework after the agency opens.

The team’s work will focus on four areas. First, it will lay the institutional groundwork for operations by revising and organizing laws, rules and other working-level regulations related to the agency, and by setting up investigative procedures and interagency cooperation systems.

Second, it will design the agency’s detailed structure, staffing and placement standards, and personnel rules, and handle recruitment of public officials to work there. Third, it will prepare for the transfer of cases and investigative capacity from existing investigative bodies, including procedures for handing over cases and crime intelligence, processes for warrant applications and case referrals, and a phased transfer of personnel and expertise in key areas such as anti-corruption, economic crimes, narcotics and forensic science.

Fourth, it will build the operational foundation, including offices and information systems. Plans include securing and remodeling headquarters and regional offices, creating interview and office space, and establishing electronic systems needed for work, including the Korea Criminal Justice Information System (KICS), an electronic approval system and a website.

The ministry said the team will work closely with related agencies, including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Justice Ministry and the National Police Agency, to carry out tasks in stages and launch the agency on Oct. 2 as planned.

Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung said the launch of the preparation team puts key work — including securing office space, staffing and building systems — “on track.” He said the ministry will do its best to help the new agency take root as an investigative body that protects the public’s rights and earns public trust.

* This article has been translated by AI.