The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, set to launch in October, will investigate six categories of major crimes under a unified single-rank system for investigators.
The Prosecution Reform Task Force under the Prime Minister's Office announced Thursday it will re-open public comments on revised bills to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Public Prosecution Agency through January 26. The government had initially opened public comments on December 12, but extended the period after criticism that the proposals would "effectively maintain the current prosecution system."
Under the revised bill, the agency's investigative jurisdiction covers six areas: corruption, economic crimes, defense procurement, narcotics, cybercrime, and insurrection and foreign exchange violations. Public official crimes, election crimes, and major disaster-related crimes were excluded. The revision addresses concerns that the agency's scope was too broad and overlapped with other investigative bodies.
The original bill divided personnel into judicial investigators and specialized investigators. Critics noted this mirrored the existing prosecution structure. The revised bill consolidates all staff into a single nine-tier investigator rank system. Transitional provisions guarantee current prosecutors transferring to the new agency will retain their existing salary and retirement age, with appointments to corresponding ranks.
Qualification requirements for the agency chief were relaxed. Candidates with 15 or more years of investigative or legal experience may now serve without bar certification. However, the head of the Public Prosecution Agency retains the title "Prosecutor General" due to constitutional concerns raised by the ruling party.
The revised Public Prosecution Agency bill also expands grounds for dismissing prosecutors. The original version limited removal to impeachment or criminal sentences of imprisonment or higher. Prosecutors may now be dismissed through disciplinary action alone.