Ahead of the dismantling of the Prosecution Service and the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office, the Korea Customs Service is moving to expand its drug investigation unit. With the prosecution — which had long directed drug investigations — being phased out, the customs agency's investigative powers are set to widen, prompting it to weigh a range of internal measures including sharply boosting manpower and creating a separate, independent investigation unit.
According to government sources on the 11th, the Korea Customs Service is working to strengthen its drug investigation response system. It is said to be particularly reviewing the need to expand dedicated drug investigation personnel and reorganize its structure in preparation for changes in the prosecution's command system.
The customs agency has already added a total of 452 new hires earlier this year. Of these, about 83%, or 376, are slated to be deployed to drug enforcement, according to officials.
The agency is also considering establishing a "Drug Investigation Bureau." "If the dissolution of the Prosecution Service materializes this year, constraints on exercising investigative authority will be lifted, and the investigative scope of the customs agency's special judicial police for drugs is likely to expand," a customs official said. "As we increase drug investigation staffing, we've determined that an independent dedicated unit will be needed in the long term, and we are reviewing this internally."
To secure dedicated drug investigation personnel, the agency is also considering recruiting drug investigators after the prosecution's dissolution. The idea is to offer career-transition opportunities to top drug investigators expected to leave their posts amid the prosecution's breakup, thereby building up the customs service's drug investigation expertise in a short period.
The customs service recently received a research report along these lines. The report, titled "Development Plans for Korea Customs Service Drug Investigations" and drawing on comparative analysis of cases in the U.S., France and Germany, states that "drug crimes are characterized by organization, sophistication and internationalization, making effective response difficult based on short-term work experience alone," adding that "substantive accumulation of investigative expertise requires the operation of dedicated investigation personnel on the premise of fixed assignments lasting a certain period or longer."
"Setting up a Drug Investigation Bureau will require consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, among others, so we expect it to take considerable time," a customs official said. "The personnel transfer issue remains fluid, and nothing has been specifically decided yet."
