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Acting chiefs of new crime agency, prosecution and police attend first cabinet meeting
Версия 3: New documents add the Oct. 6 cabinet meeting, presided over by President Lee Jae-myung and attended by the acting chiefs of the investigation agency, the prosecution office and the police, along with a Newsis headline flagging concern that their attendance damaged investigative independence.
Коротко
Acting heads of South Korea’s new Serious Crime Investigation Agency, the Public Prosecution Office and the National Police Agency attended the first cabinet meeting held since the first two agencies launched, on Oct. 6 at Cheong Wa Dae, with President Lee Jae-myung presiding. The new agency, launched Oct. 2, brought executives and staff to work on the Oct. 4 holiday to draft manuals and plan manual handling of case records while only part of the criminal justice information system is available. Case records have still not been transferred from the prosecution office, which can keep investigating certain cases for up to 90 days, and Yonhap reported concerns in legal circles that the launch was premature.
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Acting chiefs of South Korea’s Serious Crime Investigation Agency, the Public Prosecution Office and the National Police Agency attended a cabinet meeting on Oct. 6, the first held since the first two agencies launched, Yonhap and a Kukmin Ilbo headline reported. Newsis named those attending as Jeon Jong-min, acting head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency; Lee Jung-hyun, acting head of the Public Prosecution Office and prosecutor general; and Kim Jong-chul, acting National Police Agency chief, and published photographs of them at the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. Photo captions from Maeil Business and Korea Economic Daily said President Lee Jae-myung presided, and Korea Economic Daily described it as the 43rd cabinet meeting. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
A Newsis headline attached to its photographs referred to concerns that the acting chiefs’ attendance damaged the independence of investigations. The text available with the document consisted of photo captions and gave no further detail. [ 8 ]
Four days earlier, on the first holiday after its Oct. 2 launch, the Serious Crime Investigation Agency brought some executives and staff into the office to prepare for investigations, Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily reported. On-duty staff were drawing up divisions of duties and manuals for each bureau and division, and working out how to process case records by hand because only part of the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS) will be available for the time being. Yonhap said the agency began with about 1,900 staff, 66 percent of its authorized 2,874 positions. [ 1 , 2 ]
Case records have not yet been transferred from the Public Prosecution Office. Seoul Economic Daily said the office has sorted which cases to hand over but that the transfer has been delayed by problems with the new agency’s systems. Yonhap reported that the prosecution office, which gave up direct investigation authority as of Oct. 2, may keep cases that are hard to hand over or are near their statute of limitations for up to 90 days, and that a Public Official Election Act case tied to the June 3 local elections will stay with it because its six-month limitation is nearly up. [ 1 , 2 ]
Seoul Economic Daily reported that bidding for construction supervision at the agency’s headquarters and Seoul office has just begun, with a supervising company to be chosen on Oct. 8, that the supervision contract runs 90 days and that a dozen or so other construction contracts have just started, so investigators could question suspects while building work continues. Senior government officials had told the agency’s launch preparation team that it should show a forced investigation on launch day, but a lack of staff and equipment and the vacancy in the agency’s top post make that unlikely soon, the outlet reported. [ 2 ]
Attention is focused on which case the agency will take as its first investigation, Yonhap reported. It said legal circles argue the meaning differs from the first case taken by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which in May 2021 opened an investigation into allegations that former education superintendent Cho Hee-yeon improperly gave hiring favors to dismissed teachers. Because the new agency inherits part of the prosecution’s role rather than independently registering suspects, its “first investigation” is more likely to be named at the point of a forced investigation or a suspect summons, Yonhap reported. Yonhap later reported that as the agency’s premature launch became reality, concerns grew within legal circles, with comments such as “hasty by anyone’s view” and “is there reform will?” [ 1 ]
The agency held its opening ceremony on Oct. 2 at Renes Square in Seoul’s Jung-gu district, Yonhap reported. [ 1 ]
Почему это важно
The new agency takes over part of the prosecution’s investigative role, so how fast it can receive records and open cases shapes how criminal investigations are handled in South Korea. Its reduced staffing, unfinished offices and vacant chief post leave the prosecution office holding a group of cases for up to 90 days. A Newsis headline flagging concern that the acting chiefs’ cabinet attendance damaged investigative independence points to scrutiny of the new arrangement.
Ключевые факты
- Acting chiefs of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, the Public Prosecution Office and the National Police Agency attended the cabinet meeting on Oct. 6, the first since the first two agencies launched. [ 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung presided over the meeting; Korea Economic Daily described it as the 43rd cabinet meeting. [ 6 , 7 ]
- The Serious Crime Investigation Agency held its opening ceremony on Oct. 2 at Renes Square in Seoul’s Jung-gu district. [ 1 ]
- The agency began with about 1,900 staff, 66 percent of its authorized 2,874 positions, according to Yonhap. [ 1 ]
- Some executives and staff worked on the Oct. 4 holiday, drafting divisions of duties and manuals and planning how to process case records by hand with only part of the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS) available. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Case records have not yet been transferred from the Public Prosecution Office, which can continue investigating certain cases for up to 90 days. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Bidding for construction supervision at the agency’s headquarters and Seoul office has just begun, with a supervising company to be chosen on Oct. 8. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap reported that concerns grew in legal circles over the agency’s launch, with phrases such as “hasty by anyone’s view” and “is there reform will?” [ 3 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Acting chiefs of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office attended the first cabinet meeting after the agencies’ launches, and Newsis also named the acting National Police Agency chief as attending. [ 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung presided over the cabinet meeting, according to Maeil Business and Korea Economic Daily photo captions. [ 6 , 7 ]
- The Serious Crime Investigation Agency launched on Oct. 2. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Some executives and staff worked on the Oct. 4 holiday to prepare for investigations, including drafting manuals and planning manual handling of case records. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Case records have not yet been transferred from the Public Prosecution Office. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Public Prosecution Office, which gave up direct investigation authority as of Oct. 2, can continue investigating certain cases for up to 90 days. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The agency says investigations are possible before a chief is appointed, with Deputy Chief Jeon Jong-min serving as acting head. [ 1 , 2 ]
Пока неясно
- Which case will be the agency’s first investigation. Both Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily say attention is focused on the question but neither identifies a case; Yonhap says the label may only be attached at a later stage of an investigation.
- Whether the agency will carry out a forced investigation soon. Only Seoul Economic Daily reports that senior government officials wanted a forced investigation on launch day, and it says staffing, equipment and the vacant chief post make that unlikely soon.
- When case records will move from the prosecution office to the new agency. Both outlets say the transfer has not happened and give no date; the stated cause — problems with the new agency’s systems — appears in only one document.
- Whether the agency’s staff numbers will rise to the authorized level. Only Yonhap gives the figure of about 1,900 of 2,874 posts, with no timeline for filling the rest.
- What specific criticisms legal circles made beyond the phrases in Yonhap’s headline. The story is available only as a short summary and does not name the critics or give details.
- Why the acting chiefs’ attendance at the cabinet meeting would raise concerns about the independence of investigations. Only a Newsis headline states this, and the text available with the document consists of photo captions that do not elaborate.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- Yonhap reports that on the first holiday after the agency’s Oct. 2 launch, some executives and staff came to work to set up office divisions, manuals and manual case-record handling. [ 1 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the same-day preparations and adds that construction supervision bidding is under way, with a supervising company to be chosen on Oct. 8. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap reports that concerns are growing in legal circles over the agency’s launch, with phrases such as “hasty by anyone’s view” and “is there reform will?” [ 3 ]
- Kukmin Ilbo reports in a headline that the acting chiefs of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, the Public Prosecution Office and the National Police Agency attended a cabinet meeting. [ 4 ]
- Yonhap reports that acting chiefs of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office attended the first cabinet meeting after the two agencies’ launches. [ 5 ]
- Maeil Business publishes a photo caption saying President Lee Jae-myung presided over the cabinet meeting. [ 6 ]
- Korea Economic Daily publishes a photo caption describing the 43rd cabinet meeting, presided over by President Lee Jae-myung. [ 7 ]
- Newsis publishes photographs naming Jeon Jong-min, Lee Jung-hyun and Kim Jong-chul as the acting agency, prosecution and police chiefs at the cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. [ 8 ]