First Busan serious-crime investigation chief pledges political neutrality on first day

Kim Ki-wook reported for his first day of work as the inaugural head of the Busan District Central Serious Crime Investigation Office on 6 October, four days after the office opened, holding a doorstep briefing with reporters at its building in Gangseo-gu, Busan. He said political neutrality and investigative independence “cannot be emphasised too often,” and added that the system had been reorganised out of consideration for the past, so “the same things as in the past will naturally not be repeated,” Yonhap reported. Kukmin Ilbo carried the same pledge in its headline. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]

Kim said that although the investigation system has changed greatly — with the abolition of the prosecution organisation and the launch of the central investigation offices, as Yonhap put it — the basic principles of criminal proceedings, protecting the rights of victims and defending the human rights of suspects, cannot change. He said the Busan office would aim to be the investigative body that best upholds those purposes. He named easing inconvenience for complainants, including in filing complaints, as the matter he would solve first. [ 3 ]

The briefing left operational questions largely unanswered, and Yonhap reported several gaps. The office has filled about 74% of its 322 authorised positions. It has leased 14 floors, from the 10th to the 23rd, of a private building, but only three floors are in use as office space, with all current staff gathered there. Personnel appointments, including a grade-4 public information officer, have not been completed. Kim said an internal plan was in place and that he would try not to fall behind it, but that he could not yet give a precise schedule. [ 3 ]

On the concern that the office is far from the prosecution office and could face problems in warrant work, Kim called it a common problem for regional investigation offices, whose jurisdictions are very wide because they follow high court boundaries. He said the government needed to settle the matter institutionally step by step, and that under current conditions the office could only do its best. Asked whether cases could be sent to the western branch of the Busan prosecution office, he said the matter was still under discussion and that details would be given later. [ 3 ]

Kim is a graduate of Seorabeol High School and Kyunghee University's law department who completed the 33rd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. A former judge at the Suwon District Court's Seongnam branch and the Chuncheon District Court's Gangneung branch, he later opened a law practice and most recently served as a deputy special prosecutor on the special prosecution team led by special prosecutor Ahn Kwon-seop, according to Yonhap. [ 3 ]

Newsis, which reported the same first-day appearance, quoted Kim in its headline as saying his “heart is heavy” and that he would do his best in the current situation; its article text consisted of photo captions of the Busan briefing. Kukmin Ilbo's report was published at 01:45 and carried only its headline, with no article text. [ 1 , 2 ]