Interior ministry clears rules as new prosecution bodies open

South Korea's interior ministry issued a ministerial revision on Friday, the day the country's new prosecution structure formally took effect, changing a local tax enforcement form that had directed documents to the district prosecutors' office.

Under the revision, the line "to the competent prosecutors' office" on Appendix Form No. 7-2 of the Enforcement Rules of the Local Tax Collection Act becomes "to the prosecutor of the competent regional public prosecution office or its branch." The change follows the abolition of the prosecutors' office and the creation of two bodies: the Public Prosecution Service, under the justice minister, and the Serious Crime Investigation Bureau, under the interior minister. The two laws creating the new agencies were promulgated on March 24 and took effect on Oct. 2.

The Serious Crime Investigation Bureau opened on Friday with 1,900 of its eventual 2,874 posts filled, or 66.1 percent of the total, across seven offices including a 250-person headquarters and a 750-person Seoul office.

Kim Min-jae, the interior vice minister who heads the bureau's opening preparation team, said the government would keep working with related agencies to support its launch. "We will do our utmost so that the bureau investigates fairly and effectively under the law and principles and establishes itself as a capable and trusted professional investigative agency that protects people's lives," he said. Essential office space, computer networks, PCs and investigative vehicles were secured first. The criminal justice information system, known as KICS, went live on Oct. 2 with core functions, with the remaining functions scheduled to open in early December.

The justice ministry also moved prosecutors into the new Public Prosecution Service on Oct. 2, appointing two senior prosecutors and transferring 27 staff to the central office, 152 to regional offices and 11 general prosecutors. Seven senior investigators were nominated to lead the bureau, including Jeon Jong-min as deputy chief and Choi Jae-min as head of its Seoul office. Kim Hyeong-geun, Moon Hong-ju, Hong Jong-hee and Kim Ki-wook were named to lead the Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu and Busan offices, respectively, and Lim Eun-jung, a chief prosecutor at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, was named to head the Gwangju office.

For 2027, the government submitted a budget of 472 billion won ($348 million) for the agency to the National Assembly, breaking down into 230 billion won ($170 million) for personnel, 217 billion won ($160 million) for programmes and 25.2 billion won ($18.6 million) for basic operating costs. Fourth-quarter operating expenses this year are being covered by funds transferred from the prosecutors' office.