Public Prosecution Office and Serious Crime Investigation Agency face their 'real first day' after holiday break... Busy clearing backlogged cases and preparing investigations

[Financial News] The Public Prosecution Office and Serious Crime Investigation Agency, which were launched on the 2nd and immediately entered a holiday break, effectively began their first normal workday on the 6th. The Public Prosecution Office began sorting prosecutors' direct-investigation cases while putting a new work system into operation, including requests for supplementary investigations and reviews of non-referral decisions. The Serious Crime Investigation Agency also began accepting criminal complaints and accusations and specifying departmental assignments as it prepared to launch full-scale investigations.
According to legal sources on the 6th, Public Prosecution Offices nationwide are classifying pending cases that prosecutors had been investigating directly into those that will continue under transitional provisions and those to be transferred to other investigative bodies, including the police and Serious Crime Investigation Agency. They are preparing to transfer the cases in stages.
However, cases slated for transfer will not all be handed over at once on the 6th. An official from the Public Prosecution Office said, "Because we need to organize the record lists, seized items, and non-evidentiary documents related to omitted investigative procedures, the cases will be sent as each frontline office completes its preparations."
The classification of cases to be investigated during the transition period, which can last up to 90 days, has also been completed. The Public Prosecution Office divided existing direct-investigation cases into those that will not be investigated during the 90-day period and those for which a decision on whether to transfer them will be made after further investigation. However, the specific number of cases was not disclosed for investigative security reasons.
Requests for supplementary investigations will also begin for cases referred by the police and others but left without prosecutorial disposition. Rather than sending a set number of cases back to the police at once, individual prosecutors are expected to review the cases and make requests in the order in which they determine that additional investigation is necessary.
The newly created Non-referral Review Divisions will also begin examining cases. Seoul Central District Public Prosecution Office's Non-referral Review Divisions 1 and 2 have been staffed with nine prosecutors in total, including three deputy section chiefs and six rank-and-file prosecutors, in addition to the section chiefs. However, as prosecutors who previously handled criminal cases move to the Non-referral Review Divisions, their cases will have to be reassigned to other prosecutors, creating an additional workload. A shortage of investigative personnel is emerging as another difficulty.
The Serious Crime Investigation Agency also continued accepting criminal complaints and accusations while preparing to handle cases in earnest. An agency official said, "We are not yet fully staffed, but we have allocated duties, including designating acting officials, to prevent any gaps in our work with the personnel currently available. We are finalizing preparations so that we can respond swiftly to investigations."
The contents of received criminal complaints and accusations are reviewed. Case numbers are not assigned immediately. Based on their contents, the submissions are classified as actual criminal cases, simple civil complaints, or petitions urging an investigation, after which they proceed through the relevant procedures. At present, the Korea Information System of Criminal Justice Services (KICS) is using some functions, including case intake and assignment, on a priority basis.
The Serious Crime Investigation Agency pushed back against the interpretation that a particular case had been selected as the agency-wide "first investigation." An agency official explained, "Since ours is an organization with six regional offices and multiple bureaus and departments, it is difficult to say which one is the first case." The official indicated that major cases could naturally emerge during the course of future investigations.
Each regional Serious Crime Investigation Agency also moved to stabilize its organization as the inaugural chiefs officially reported for work on the 6th. Kim Hyeong-geun, chief of the Suwon Serious Crime Investigation Agency, said, "We will overcome the limitations of existing investigative agencies while carrying forward their capabilities and experience." Hong-Ju Moon, chief of the Daejeon Serious Crime Investigation Agency, identified organizational stability as the most urgent task.
Hong Jong-hee, chief of the Daegu Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and Ki-Uk Kim, chief of the Busan Serious Crime Investigation Agency, also said they would quickly establish the necessary foundations, including personnel and facilities. Concerns were also raised about the agencies' state of readiness. Lim Eun-jung, chief of the Gwangju Serious Crime Investigation Agency, said, "Normal operations are impossible right away," noting that the budget, organizational structure, and security systems were not yet sufficiently in place.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter