One in four prosecutors who sought transfer to new crime agency withdraws application

About one in four prosecutors and investigators who had applied to transfer to the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, set to launch in October, have withdrawn their applications. The number of special appointment applicants fell from an initial 2,376 to 1,761 after a withdrawal period.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety's agency launch preparatory committee confirmed Tuesday that 1,761 applicants from the Prosecutors' Office — including prosecutors and investigators — had finalized their requests for special appointment.

The committee accepted transfer applications from Prosecutors' Office civil servants from Aug. 7 to Aug. 20. The initial figure announced at the time was 2,375, but one additional application was subsequently reflected, bringing the total to 2,376.

Of those, 615 later withdrew their applications — 25.9 percent of the original total, or roughly one in four who had initially expressed intent to join the agency.

However, not all 1,761 remaining applicants are guaranteed a transfer. The preparatory committee plans to review each applicant's preferred posting location, investigative track record and area of expertise before selecting the final special appointees this month.

Earlier, the government announced on Aug. 20 that the initial number of special appointment applicants stood at 2,375 — equivalent to 82.6 percent of the agency's total authorized staff of 2,874.

Positions that cannot be filled through special appointments will be filled through separate competitive hiring. The agency plans to recruit experienced candidates from the police as well as lawyers, accountants, patent attorneys and specialists in cybertechnology and financial analysis.

Prosecutors and staff at the new Public Prosecution Service, which will replace the existing Prosecutors' Office, will also be given additional opportunities to transfer to the agency. Under the relevant law, additional special appointments remain available until April 30 next year.

The agency is set to officially launch on Oct. 2 with a total authorized staff of 2,874 — comprising 2,567 investigators and 307 general civil servants. In addition to its headquarters, it will operate six regional offices in Seoul, Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan and Gwangju, with 2,478 of its total staff assigned to those regional offices.

The agency will handle seven categories of serious crime: corruption, economic crimes, defense procurement, narcotics, state security offenses including insurrection and foreign interference, cybercrime and obstruction of justice. Joint investigative units targeting specific offenses such as voice phishing, virtual assets and narcotics are also planned.

Meanwhile, with the agency's launch roughly a month away, the process of selecting its inaugural director is also under way. The Ministry of Interior and Safety accepted public nominations for director candidates from Aug. 19 to Aug. 26. A candidate recommendation committee will review submissions and forward at least three names to the interior minister, after which the minister will formally recommend a nominee to the president, who will appoint the first director following a National Assembly confirmation hearing.