New major-crimes agency, prosecution office open without permanent chiefs

South Korea's prosecution service, which had operated for 78 years, formally ceased to exist Friday as two successor agencies — the Serious Crime Investigation Commission, tasked with investigating major crimes, and the Public Prosecution Service, responsible for indictments and maintaining public prosecutions — each held opening ceremonies and announced their historic launch. Both agencies, however, began operations without permanent chiefs, raising widespread concern among legal circles over whether the new criminal justice system can take hold without disruption.

The Serious Crime Investigation Commission, known by its Korean acronym SCIC, held its opening ceremony Friday morning at its main office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Attendees included Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung, National Assembly Interior and Safety Committee Chairman Kim Young-jin, Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Seo Young-gyo, Court Administration Office Chief No Gyeong-pil, Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Chief Oh Dong-woon, SCIC Deputy Commissioner Jeon Jong-min and Seoul Regional SCIC Commissioner Choi Jae-min.

With the selection process for the agency's first commissioner still unfinished, Deputy Commissioner Jeon delivered the opening remarks as acting head of the organization. "We stand at the center of the most sweeping transformation of the criminal justice system in 78 years," Jeon said. "Because I understand the weight of that, I feel responsibility before I feel joy." He added, "We are separating investigation from prosecution. But dividing power alone is not enough. That division is only complete when each divided power exercises restraint over itself."

"The SCIC will make 'restraint' its foremost principle," Jeon said. "A search and seizure that fails to narrow down the charges clears out an entire office. An investigation that fails to uncover the truth consumes years of a person's life. Restraint does not mean doing less investigating," he said. "It means doing it more precisely." He went on to say, "We will be resolute, yet infinitely cautious when it comes to the freedoms and rights of the people."

Jeon also said the agency would put crime victims and socially vulnerable groups first and would uphold political neutrality and investigative independence. In addition, he pledged to carry out duties fairly in accordance with the law and principles, secure the highest level of professional investigative capability, and thoroughly guarantee the human rights of the public and due process.

In his congratulatory address, Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung said the SCIC "bears the responsibility to rigorously investigate serious crimes that threaten democracy and a fair free-market order" and "must also faithfully fulfill its mission to protect the human rights of society's most vulnerable." He said, "Handling the crimes of the most powerful in our society while protecting the rights of the most powerless — that is the mission entrusted to the SCIC."

The Public Prosecution Service also held its opening ceremony Friday morning at its main office in Seocho-gu, Seoul — the former Supreme Prosecutors' Office main building conference hall — in a closed-door event attended by only a small number of senior officials, including acting Prosecutor General Lee Jeong-hyeon, who serves as the agency's deputy chief prosecutor.

In a press release issued on its first day of operations, the Public Prosecution Service said it "will continue to strive, as a human rights protection agency, to ensure that the human rights and interests of the public are fully protected and that criminal justice is substantively realized — through the concentrated application of accumulated professional expertise, objective review of the legality and appropriateness of investigations, fair exercise of prosecutorial authority, strict enforcement of sentences and recovery of criminal proceeds, and active performance of public interest functions."

Despite the opening ceremonies, deep concern remains over whether the two agencies can fully fill the void left in the criminal justice system. Neither launched with a permanent chief, and the SCIC has so far filled only about two-thirds of its authorized staffing while infrastructure development is still ongoing.

Cooperation between the SCIC and the Public Prosecution Service is also seen as a key challenge for the new agency. Although former prosecution personnel have transferred to the SCIC, observers note it will be difficult to carry over 78 years of investigative know-how intact. Legal experts say the SCIC may need to work closely with the Public Prosecution Service from as early as the warrant application stage — the first step that signals an investigation is moving in earnest. Across the legal community, the assessment is that the prosecution reform is now on trial.