Editorials
New prosecution agencies launch without leaders or staff
Korea's prosecution overhaul begins with leadership vacancies, staffing gaps and warnings of disruption to serious-crime investigations.
Workers replace the sign at the Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office in Yeongtong District, Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 30, ahead of the abolition of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the launch of the Public Prosecution Service and Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
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The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will close its doors on Friday after 78 years, as Korea’s criminal justice system undergoes a fundamental overhaul. But its replacement — the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) and Public Prosecution Service — are set to begin operations without permanent chiefs and sufficient staff. Prolonged disruption appears inevitable.
The overhaul affects the public. Critics warn that criminals could exploit the revised Criminal Procedure Act, and preparations for the two new agencies remain inadequate. Seven Ministry of Justice ordinances requiring revision, including rules governing prosecution case procedures, have not even been promulgated. And even after the prosecution service becomes the Public Prosecution Office, prosecutors will struggle to check police investigations because their supplementary investigative authority has been abolished.
The presidential office recently said that “nothing has been decided” regarding a request for a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for the inaugural SCIA chief. Some hard-liners in the Democratic Party, including Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae, have attacked his record as a prosecutor, even calling him a “mole.” This has wasted time. Expecting a government agency to launch before its chief settles into their role is unrealistic. Both the presidential office and the ruling party bear responsibility for the delay.
The first appointments for the Public Prosecution Service, including the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, were announced two days ago. But only job titles and nameplates have changed.
The head of the Public Prosecution Service will retain the title of prosecutor general, but a candidate recommendation committee has not even been formed. Since justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won’s withdrawal, no signs of a successor have appeared, yet the successor is responsible for recommending the inaugural chief.
The SCIA has conducted two rounds of special recruitment, but 32 percent of its authorized 2,874 positions remain vacant. It has secured only 80 prosecutors, including 47 rank-and-file prosecutors.
Despite those shortages, the agency will be responsible for seven categories of crimes: corruption, economic crimes, defense acquisition offenses, drug crimes, crimes against state security, cybercrimes and the newly created offense of distortion of the law.
If investigative expertise accumulated over decades in complex criminal cases is not properly transferred, that capacity could disappear. Criminals would be the only ones with reason to celebrate.
The criminal justice system was not perfect, but the Criminal Procedure Act and related institutions were refined over many years. Hastily dismantling them for political reasons risks shifting the cost onto the public.
Reform cannot be judged merely by whether new agencies open on schedule. They must be capable of investigating serious crimes, checking abuses and protecting victims from the day that they begin operations. If institutional gaps instead weaken investigations and prosecutions, the public will bear the consequences.
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.
