Interior ministry clears legal patch as new serious-crimes bureau opens

The interior ministry said Friday it revised six administrative rules to remove references to the prosecution service, completing a paperwork cleanup that follows the abolition of the prosecution service and the creation of two new investigative bodies.

The revisions, issued as a ministry decree, take effect Oct. 2, the same day the newly established Serious Crimes Investigation Bureau opens. The bureau, which will be staffed initially with about 1,900 people, or 66.1 percent of its eventual full complement of 2,874 positions, begins work under the interior ministry, while a separate Public Prosecution Service is placed under the justice ministry.

The change stems from the Public Prosecution Service Act and the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Bureau, both promulgated March 24 and taking effect Oct. 2. Together they abolish the prosecution service.

Among the amendments, a district prosecutors' office form that previously carried the title "chief prosecutor" now refers to the "head of an investigative agency."

Seven senior posts at the new bureau have been filled, including a deputy chief and the heads of six regional offices. Chun Jong-min was named deputy chief, with Choi Jae-min heading the Seoul office, Kim Hyung-keun in Suwon, Moon Hong-ju in Daejeon, Hong Jong-hee in Daegu, Kim Ki-wook in Busan and Lim Eun-jung in Gwangju.

Kim Min-jae, a vice interior minister who heads the bureau's launch preparation team, said the government would keep working with relevant agencies to support the new body. "We will do our utmost so that the bureau investigates fairly and effectively in accordance with law and principle, and establishes itself as a capable and trusted professional investigative agency that protects people's lives," he said.

The government has also submitted a 2027 budget request of 472 billion won ($348 million) for the bureau to the National Assembly, comprising 230 billion won ($170 million) for personnel, 217 billion won ($160 million) for programs and 25.2 billion won ($18.6 million) for basic operating costs. Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of this year will be transferred from the prosecution service's budget.