Editorials
Can new justice agencies function amid leadership vacuum?
With new prosecution and serious-crime agencies set to launch Oct. 2, key posts, staffing and public guidance remain unresolved.
Serious Crimes Investigation Agency chief nominee Kim Ji-yong delivers a statement at the Changseong-dong Annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Sept. 14, where an office has been set up for preparations for his confirmation hearing.
NEWS1
The Prosecution Service’s replacement agencies are set to launch on Oct. 2, just 10 days from now: the Prosecution Office, which will handle indictments, and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), which will investigate seven categories of major crimes.
Yet the justice minister and prosecutor general posts are vacant, while the appointment of Kim Ji-yong, nominee for first chief of the SCIA, remains uncertain as he undergoes additional vetting. Korea’s criminal justice system is undergoing its most sweeping change in 72 years, since the Criminal Procedure Act was enacted in 1954, but the new system is preparing to start without its key leadership in place.
The SCIA has not secured all the investigators it needs, while construction of major facilities at its headquarters remains unfinished. It reportedly lacks even its own detention cells and may have to use nearby police stations.
It is legitimate to question whether the agency can properly investigate serious crimes under such conditions. The government and ruling party made prosecution reform a top priority, yet failed to prepare for the launch on time. They deserve criticism for this lack of preparation. If the confusion persists, the public will ultimately bear the cost.
Appointments to leadership positions must therefore be accelerated. A decision on Kim’s nomination should not be delayed. The government must also begin appointment procedures for the prosecutor general, who will head the Prosecution Office, and the National Police Agency commissioner general. Leaving the leadership of investigative and prosecutorial agencies vacant for so long amounts to neglecting a basic responsibility of government.
The government must also explain the new system thoroughly to minimize confusion after it takes effect. People need to know where to file criminal complaints, which agencies will continue or take over cases already under prosecutorial investigation and how cases will be divided between the police and the SCIA.
When the revised Criminal Procedure Act takes effect on Oct. 2, the scope and deadlines for objections to police decisions not to refer cases for prosecution will also change. The public should receive clear guidance on objections and other remedies.
The Prosecution Office and SCIA should open their websites even before launch and begin providing such information.
The success of criminal justice reform will not be determined by putting new names on government agencies. Its first test will come Oct. 2: whether citizens know where to go and what procedures to follow, rather than finding themselves lost in an unfamiliar system from the very first day onward.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
