Experience as a ‘Grade 4 investigator at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency’ added to eligibility requirements for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief

[Financial News] Experience serving as an investigator at Grade 4 or higher at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency has been newly added to the eligibility requirements for external appointment as chief of the Korean National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation. Legislation governing external appointments to the post has also been revised in line with the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. Candidates must also meet the requirement of at least 10 years of investigative work. 
According to police and other sources on the 11th, “an investigator at Grade 4 or higher at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency” has been newly specified as a qualification for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief.
External appointment as National Office of Investigation chief is not a system newly introduced this time. Previously, a person with at least 10 years of investigative work experience who met the rank and career requirements set by law could also be eligible for external appointment. However, this revision specifically incorporates the rank criteria for Serious Crime Investigation Agency investigators into the eligibility requirements for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief.
Article 16, Paragraph 6, Subparagraph 1 of the Act on the Organization and Operation of the National Police and Municipal Police, which took effect on the 2nd, sets out the eligibility requirements for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief. The provision specifies that, among people with at least 10 years of investigative work experience, candidates must have served as a civil servant in the Senior Civil Service, a civil servant at Grade 3 or higher, an investigator at Grade 4 or higher at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, or a police officer at the rank of Senior Superintendent or above.
The chief of the National Office of Investigation, which was launched in January 2021 following the adjustment of investigative powers between prosecutors and police, heads the office. The National Office of Investigation is responsible for formulating policy for police investigations, overseeing and coordinating them, and directing and supervising investigations. The chief holds the rank of Deputy Commissioner General, immediately below that of the Commissioner General, who heads the Korean National Police Agency.
A notable feature of this revision is that it limits eligibility to investigators at Grade 4 or higher, rather than including all investigators at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. Under laws governing the agency, its investigators serve as a separate investigative workforce and may be appointed through open competitive recruitment, career-based competitive recruitment, and other methods.
According to police, having served as an investigator at Grade 4 or higher at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency does not by itself confer eligibility for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief. Meeting the eligibility requirements does not mean a person will be appointed to the post immediately, either. If an external appointment is needed, the person must go through a separate appointment process, including recruitment and screening.
A police official explained, “This revision has not changed the basic framework for eligibility for external appointment as National Office of Investigation chief,” adding, “The requirement of at least 10 years of investigative work remains in place, and experience as an investigator at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency has been specified to meet that requirement.”


[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter