Three of Four Candidates for First Serious Crime Investigation Agency Chief Are Former Prosecutors; "Prosecutorial Experience Was Not Automatically Excluded"

[Financial News] Three of the four candidates for the first chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency are former prosecutors. The remaining candidate is a former judge who has experience directing investigations as a deputy special prosecutor.
The Nomination Committee for the Head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency met at the Government Complex Seoul on the 4th and selected attorneys Kim Kwan-jung, Kim Ji-yong and Moon Hong-joo, along with Myongji University law professor Lee Yoon-je, as candidates for the agency’s first chief.
Attorneys Kim Kwan-jung and Kim Ji-yong, as well as Professor Lee, are former prosecutors. Moon is the only former judge among the candidates, but he directed investigations last year as a deputy special prosecutor on the Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor’s Team.
The Serious Crime Investigation Agency, which will be launched on October 2, will investigate seven major categories of serious crime: national-protection crimes such as corruption, economic crimes, defense-industry crimes, drug crimes, insurrection and foreign-exchange crimes; cybercrime; and the crime of distorting the law. With the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office, the agency will take over major serious-crime investigations previously handled by prosecutors, making the securing of investigative capabilities and the establishment of the new organization key priorities. The Prosecution Service, which will also launch that day, will handle indictments and the maintenance of public prosecutions.
The nomination committee also said it used investigative expertise and leadership capable of guiding the new organization as major evaluation criteria.
Lee Joo-won, chair of the Nomination Committee for the Head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, said at a briefing after the meeting, "We evaluated the candidates with a focus on the qualities and capabilities required of the first chief, taking into consideration investigative expertise, leadership to establish the new organization, and an understanding of the purpose and role of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency."
Attorney Kim Kwan-jung entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute with the 26th class, making him the most senior candidate and the only former chief prosecutor of a high prosecutors’ office among the four. He served as director of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Crime Information Division, chief of the Special Investigations Department at the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office, chief of the Criminal Affairs Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office and chief prosecutor of the Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office. During his tenure as chief of the Criminal Affairs Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, he directed the investigation into allegations of collusion between prosecutors and the media.
Attorney Kim Ji-yong entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute with the 28th class and served as chief prosecutor of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors’ Office, chief of the Criminal Affairs Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and deputy chief prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office. He worked across investigations, trials and inspections, serving as chief of the Special Investigations Department at the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office, chief of the Trial Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and head of Inspection Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. As chief of the Criminal Affairs Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, he oversaw the case-processing system between police and prosecutors, including cases referred by police and requests for supplementary or reinvestigation.
Attorney Moon Hong-joo entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute with the 31st class and is the only former judge among the candidates. He served as a judge at the Changwon District Court, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Court and the Seoul Central District Court, followed by positions as a presiding judge at the Daejeon District Court and a senior presiding judge at the Suwon Family Court. After retiring, he worked as an attorney. In June last year, he was appointed a deputy special prosecutor on Special Counsel Min Joung-kie’s Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor’s Team and directed investigations.
Professor Lee Yoon-je entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute with the 29th class and served as a prosecutor at the Suwon, Jeonju and Cheongju district prosecutors’ offices. He has been a professor at Myongji University since 2021. Last year, he served as a deputy special prosecutor on Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok’s Special Prosecutor’s Team for Insurrection and recently joined the Police Investigation Reform Committee.
The fact that former prosecutors make up the majority of the candidates for the first chief is understood to reflect the nature of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, which must take over major corruption, economic, drug and defense-industry cases as soon as it launches. However, criticism may arise because the candidates for the first head of the new agency—which will abolish the Prosecutors’ Office and separate investigations from prosecution—are once again dominated by former prosecutors.
In response, Chair Lee explained, "The committee agreed that it would not be appropriate to automatically exclude candidates with prosecutorial experience at the recommendation stage simply because they had worked as prosecutors."
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-joong will recommend one of the four nominees to President Lee Jae Myung as the candidate for chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. The recommended candidate will be appointed by the president after a confirmation hearing in the National Assembly. The chief serves at the vice-ministerial level for a two-year term.
The nomination committee previously reviewed individuals submitted through a public recommendation process conducted from the 19th to the 26th of last month. Of the 23 people recommended, 11 agreed to proceed with the review and became candidates for consideration. Baek Hae-ryong, a senior police inspector who raised allegations of external pressure in a customs drug investigation, was also among those reviewed but was not included among the final candidates.
The first chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency will be responsible for reorganizing the agency and its investigative system, while also establishing cooperation mechanisms with other investigative bodies, including the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter