Prosecutors, police officers and accountants in one agency ... Can an investigative system be built without the principle of prosecutorial unity?

[Financial News] The Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), launched following the abolition of the Prosecution Service and the separation of investigation and indictment, faces a test of its organizational management as its leadership post and others remain vacant. In particular, concerns have been raised about its chain of command and personnel management, as people with different professional backgrounds and work systems—including prosecutors, prosecution investigators, police officers, lawyers and accountants—are set to conduct investigations within a single organization.   
According to legal circles on the 15th, unlike the former Prosecution Service, the agency is designed to separate investigation from indictment and to handle serious crime investigations with specialist personnel recruited from a range of professions.
However, investigative experience and working methods differ depending on professional background, prompting concerns that a chain of command capable of resolving disagreements will be important if conflicts arise during case handling.
The issue is how investigative command will differ from the former Prosecution Service’s principle of prosecutorial unity. Put simply, the principle means prosecutors work together as a single, integrated organization under a hierarchy of command and obedience. It is a concept tied to command and supervisory relationships within the Prosecution Service and cannot be applied unchanged to the agency. However, if investigators disagree over the direction of a case or how to assess evidence, confusion could arise over who has final decision-making authority and who is accountable.
In particular, analysts say that cooperation among investigators and the chain of command could affect investigative efficiency in cases such as economic and corruption crimes, which take a long time to investigate and require specialized judgment. They say it is difficult to rule out delays in case handling if conflicts over the direction of an investigation are not properly resolved.
The personnel system is also seen as a challenge. The agency was established with an authorized headcount of 2,874, across its headquarters and six regional offices, 2,567 of whom are investigators. Investigators are subject to a rank system ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 9.
Prosecutors and prosecution investigators employed by the Prosecution Service may transfer to the agency without taking a separate exam if they wish. This special appointment provision will apply temporarily until April 30 of next year. For former prosecutors, appointments will be based on their previous positions and legal careers: those at the level of district prosecutors’ office chief will be appointed as Grade 1 investigators; those at the level of deputy chief or department head prosecutor as Grade 2; rank-and-file prosecutors with at least 10 years of legal experience as Grade 3; and those with less than 10 years as Grade 4.
External specialists, including police officers, lawyers and accountants, are to be recruited through competitive hiring based on experience. This has prompted speculation that questions of fairness concerning recognition of experience by professional background, job assignments and promotion opportunities could affect how the organization operates.
The agency’s position is that the former Prosecution Service’s top-down chain of command does not necessarily guarantee investigative efficiency.
An agency official asked rhetorically, “Is a top-down chain of command really right for today’s investigative system?” and added, “Those doing the hands-on work know best. If a superior who doesn’t properly understand it issues a unilateral order, must they always follow it?”
The official went on to emphasize that various safeguards are in place, including procedures for raising objections during an investigation. The point, the official said, is that it is not appropriate to assume investigations will be disrupted simply because the agency’s approach differs from the former Prosecution Service’s.
However, the official acknowledged that work to establish the personnel system is not yet complete. “It is true that the personnel system and other arrangements have not yet been put in order,” the official said, adding that some operational standards, including how personnel will be exchanged and how often, have yet to be finalized. The official explained that the fact that recruitment of external specialists is also still underway has affected the process of setting up the system.
Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to become the agency’s first chief, also emphasized introducing an accountability-based investigation system and establishing organizational discipline at a confirmation hearing before the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee on the 14th. “I will establish a system in which the investigator in charge is accountable not only for referring a case but also for its indictment and whether it results in a conviction,” Kim said, also outlining plans to manage long-unsolved cases and strengthen rewards and disciplinary measures for investigators. 
He also proposed creating a horizontal organizational culture that would not be dominated by any particular group, given that experts from a range of fields would be involved in running the organization. However, he stressed that internal discipline must also be established, given the nature of an investigative agency.
A lawyer who previously served at the level of a chief prosecutor said, “Ultimately, the agency’s challenge is to bring together people with different areas of expertise in a single investigative organization while striking a balance between command authority and investigators’ autonomy.” The lawyer added, “How the accountability-based investigation system and tougher rewards and disciplinary measures proposed by Kim will work in practice, and how specifically the agency fleshes out its command and supervisory procedures and personnel-management standards as it recruits external personnel, will determine whether the organization takes root successfully.” 

[email protected] Yoo Seon-jun Reporter