SCIA chief and police chief nominee meet for first time: “Case-transfer ping-pong is a misunderstanding; cooperation is important” (Roundup)

[Financial News] Kim Ji-yong, head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), stressed the need for cooperation between the police and SCIA over the controversy dubbed “investigative ping-pong” surrounding case transfers, saying, “Given that we are still in the early stages, there may be some misunderstandings.” Kim and Kim Jong-chul, the nominee for police chief, agreed to work closely together with mutual checks and balances to ensure the stable establishment of the new criminal justice system.
According to SCIA and other sources on the 10th, Kim visited the National Police Agency in Seoul’s Seodaemun District at around 3 p.m. that day and discussed the agencies’ respective roles and responsibilities, as well as ways to cooperate on investigations, with Kim Jong-chul.
Both sides agreed that, to ensure rigorous and fair investigations in accordance with the law and principles, each agency should faithfully carry out its role while maintaining mutual checks and balances and cooperating. They also agreed to communicate closely so that the new criminal justice system can become firmly established in a stable manner with the public’s trust.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Kim said, “For the public to feel the results of the new criminal justice system, it is important for the two major investigative agencies—the police and SCIA—to faithfully carry out their respective roles while also cooperating with each other.”
In response to criticism that the number of cases actually transferred was low compared with the number the police had recently reported to SCIA, he said, “It’s far more than three.”
Kim explained, “There are cases still under discussion. Decisions are made based on factors such as the seriousness of each case, after considering which agency’s investigation best serves the public’s interests and is effective in advancing the investigation.”
Asked about concerns that differences in the two agencies’ positions could delay case handling and lead to “investigative ping-pong,” he retorted, “Since we’re still in the early stages, there may be some misunderstandings, but when we’re thinking about the public’s interests, how important could an agency’s position be?”
The National Police Agency previously said it had notified SCIA of a total of 3,288 cases in which it had become aware of serious crimes over the 28 days from the 2nd to the 29th of last month. Of these, only three cases had actually been transferred during the same period, accounting for about 0.09% of the total.
Under the current Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act, the police must notify SCIA if they become aware during an investigation of a serious crime under SCIA’s jurisdiction. SCIA may request the transfer of cases it has been notified about, but not every reported case is transferred immediately.
Meanwhile, when asked whether heads of investigative agencies need to attend meetings of the State Council of South Korea, Kim said, “There are some aspects to that,” but avoided giving a specific answer, adding, “I’ll speak about that another time.”
[email protected] Kim Ye-ji, Choi Eun-sol Reporter