Special prosecutor Lee Tae-han to pay courtesy visit tomorrow to Serious Crime Investigation Agency chief Kim Ji-yong; investigator dispatches to be discussed

[Financial News] Lee Tae-han, the special prosecutor investigating the National Election Commission, will meet Kim Ji-yong, head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, on the 21st. The dispatch of investigators is expected to be a key agenda item. The special prosecutor’s team has already requested 10 additional investigators, saying it lacks enough personnel for search and seizure operations and other tasks.
The “Special Prosecutor Team to Uncover the Truth Behind Alleged Violations of the Public’s Voting Rights, Including the Ballot Shortage in the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections” issued a media notice on the 20th, saying Lee would visit the Serious Crime Investigation Agency’s headquarters at 3 p.m. on the 21st. The team said the visit was to discuss practical matters.
On the 13th, the special prosecutor’s team sent the Serious Crime Investigation Agency an official request to dispatch 10 additional investigators, including personnel at grade 4 or above. The team determined that it lacked the personnel needed for search and seizure operations and other tasks. Earlier, on the 7th, it received two investigators assigned from regional offices of the Agency.
There is a reason the team is looking to the Agency to fill its staffing gap. It has 17 prosecutors assigned to it, including two who joined recently—three short of the 20-person cap set by the Special Prosecutor Act. But with the prosecution service abolished on the 2nd, prosecutors lost their status as investigative authorities under the Criminal Procedure Act. As a result, even if more prosecutors were assigned, the team would find it difficult to have them handle the practical work of investigations.
Lee had flagged this issue in advance, too. At the launch ceremony last month, he said that, taking into account the possibility that prosecutors could lose their investigative powers as a result of the realignment of investigative authority, he had accepted only the minimum number of personnel necessary on assignment, and that he would request additional investigators once the Serious Crime Investigation Agency opened. The upcoming visit is a follow-up to that.
The special prosecutor’s team will investigate 12 allegations over a period of up to 150 days, including the ballot shortage, alleged manipulation of voting statistics, trips by National Election Commission officials that appeared to be for leisure, and irregular hiring and promotions.

[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter