Kim Ji-hoon, head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, meets acting Prosecutor General: “Feels like coming back to my old workplace after a long time ... consensus on active support and cooperation”

[Financial News] Kim Ji-hoon, chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, held his first official meeting with Lee Jung-hyun, acting Prosecutor General (chief of the Public Prosecution Office).
Kim said, “It feels like coming back to my old workplace after a long time,” and assessed that the two agencies shared a consensus on the need to cooperate, with the Public Prosecution Office pledging active support and cooperation for the newly established agency.
Kim met with the acting head for about an hour, from 1:49 p.m. to 2:43 p.m., at the Public Prosecution Office headquarters in Seocho District, Seoul, on the 30th.
After the meeting, Kim told reporters, “It feels like coming back to my old workplace after a long time. This is where I used to work,” adding, “The Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency are extremely important to the new criminal justice system, and we agreed that we need to maintain an ongoing cooperative relationship.”
He continued, “There was a comment from (the acting head) that, as a newly established agency, (the Serious Crime Investigation Agency) has many shortcomings, and that (the Public Prosecution Office) would actively support and cooperate on those points,” adding, “I think it was very meaningful.”
Asked whether they had discussed the leniency program for self-reporters in collusion cases, on which the two agencies have recently differed, he replied, “We agreed to work together and do a good job.” Asked for his position on attending future State Council meetings, he only replied, “I’ll look into it.”
Before entering the meeting, Kim had said that they probably would not discuss practical cooperation measures, such as handling cases, in detail, adding, “There will likely be various ways for the working-level staff to cooperate.”
An official from the Serious Crime Investigation Agency also said of the meeting, “We agreed on the importance of mutual cooperation to ensure the stable operation of the criminal justice system as a whole,” and explained, “We also exchanged views extensively on ways to cooperate.” The official added, “We agreed to maintain a close cooperative relationship based on mutual respect and trust.”
The two had previously attended a State Council meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung, but this was their first official meeting since the two agencies were launched on the 2nd. The meeting is seen as an effort to explore a framework for cooperation between the agencies as they approach their one-month anniversary.
The two agencies currently need to coordinate on matters including the transfer of existing cases under investigation by the Prosecution Service, and authority to receive leniency applications and assign provisional rankings in cases involving violations of the Fair Trade Act.
 



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