Confirmation Hearing Law for Agency Chief Approved One Month Before Launch

[Financial News] The House Steering Committee of the National Assembly passed a revision to the National Assembly Act on the 24th that would include the commissioner of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency in the list of officials subject to parliamentary confirmation hearings. The move is intended to establish a parliamentary review process for the agency chief ahead of its launch on Oct. 2 as a follow-up measure to prosecution reform.
The committee held a plenary session that day and, with bipartisan agreement, approved the revision to the National Assembly Act after it had been reviewed by the subcommittee on operational improvements. The bill adds the commissioner of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to the list of officials subject to confirmation hearings by the National Assembly.
A revision to the Confirmation Hearing Act, which sets out the confirmation hearing procedure for candidates for commissioner of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, also cleared the committee. The revision allows the president or others to request that the National Assembly send a confirmation hearing progress report if the Assembly fails to complete the hearing for the nominee within the statutory deadline.
The revisions are follow-up legislation aimed at providing a legal basis for parliamentary vetting of the agency head ahead of the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, which will handle major criminal investigations under prosecution reform.
The Security and Public Administration Committee of the National Assembly, which oversees the agency, also held a plenary session that day and began preparations for the agency's launch by receiving an institutional briefing, reviewing the settlement of accounts, and forming a subcommittee to review bills. Committee Chairman Kim Young-jin stressed, "Important changes and tasks lie ahead of us, including the stabilization of the new investigative system that will come with the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency." He added, "Thorough preparation and effort are needed so that the new system and policies can work on the ground and the public can feel the changes."
[email protected] Song Ji-won Reporter