Interior ministry clears rules as major crime investigation bureau launches

South Korea's interior ministry revised six administrative rules to remove references to the prosecution service and hand nonprofit oversight powers to a new investigative body.

The change follows the enactment of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Major Crime Investigation Bureau, promulgated in March and taking effect on Oct. 2. The law created the Major Crime Investigation Bureau under the interior minister.

Under one of the revised rules, the regulation on the establishment and supervision of nonprofit corporations, authority held by the interior minister is now shared with the head of the bureau, giving the new agency a say in approving and supervising the nonprofit corporations within its remit.

The bureau received 201 applications from prosecutors and prosecution staff during a second round of special hiring from Sept. 15 to 20, and will bring them in in stages. Remaining vacancies will be filled gradually through experienced-hire recruitment targeting police officers, lawyers and accountants. Further special hiring from the prosecution service is also under consideration until April 30, 2027.

The headquarters will be in central Seoul, alongside regional offices in Seoul, Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan and Gwangju. The bureau said it has agreed with the National Police Agency and the justice ministry to designate detention facilities and correctional institutions near each regional office to hold suspects arrested in major criminal cases.

The government will continue to work closely with related agencies to support the launch and establishment of the bureau, said Kim Min-jae, the interior vice minister who also heads the bureau's launch preparation team.