Crime agency chief nominee vows to avoid selective investigations

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is a newly established body created through prosecutorial reforms. It was spun off from the national prosecution's office and investigates major crimes. Its creation is meant to reduce the power formerly held by prosecutors. The SCIA operates under the Interior Ministry, alongside the National Police Agency.

Its chief is responsible for leading this investigative agency and setting standards for its work. Kim Ji-yong, nominated to the position, said the SCIA would avoid selective investigations, prioritize human rights, and apply rigorous oversight. These promises address concerns that investigations could be used to pressure particular political figures.

The SCIA's authority has a clear limit. It can investigate crimes such as white-collar offenses, narcotics-related crimes, tech theft, insurrection, and treason, but it cannot bring suspects to criminal trial. The prosecution formerly held both investigative and indictment powers.

Kim Ji-yong promised that the SCIA would not use investigations selectively to pressure specific people. He said he understood public concern about politically motivated investigations. His position matters because the agency was created during prosecutorial reforms, when questions about prosecutors' political influence were already prominent.

The key promise was direct: if an investigation's outcome does not constitute a crime, the agency will not hesitate to close the case. Kim also said procedural justice would be central to finding the truth. That means investigations should follow fair processes rather than begin with a predetermined target or result.

Kim further promised that the SCIA would prioritize human rights and provide rigorous oversight. He said these safeguards would help ensure fair and transparent treatment. His statements were made during his confirmation hearing, where lawmakers questioned him about earlier politically controversial prosecutions and his response to them.

The SCIA's mandate covers crimes defined as major offenses. This gives the agency responsibility across several areas rather than limiting it to one type of wrongdoing. Its broad remit matters because the agency is replacing part of the investigative role formerly held by the prosecution's office.

The article specifically lists white-collar crimes, narcotics-related crimes, tech theft, insurrection, and treason. These categories span financial wrongdoing, drug offenses, technology-related theft, and crimes viewed as threats to the state. The SCIA is dedicated to investigating these offenses, while a separate authority handles whether cases proceed to criminal trial.

This division reflects the prosecutorial reforms behind the agency's creation. The SCIA was spun off from the national prosecution's office and placed under the Interior Ministry. It investigates, but it does not have the prosecution's former power to indict accused people.

When the SCIA concludes that the investigated conduct does not constitute a crime, it should close the case. Kim Ji-yong made this promise during his confirmation hearing. He said the agency would not hesitate to end investigations when their outcomes failed to establish criminal conduct.

The mechanism is straightforward. Investigators examine the facts, assess whether they amount to a crime, and stop the case if they do not. This commitment is linked to procedural justice, which Kim called essential to uncovering the truth. It also rejects the idea that an investigation should continue simply because a person is politically controversial.

The promise responds to public concerns about investigations designed to pressure selected figures. Kim said the SCIA would prioritize human rights and use rigorous oversight. Those safeguards are intended to prevent people from becoming victims of unfair investigative processes, although the article does not describe a specific closure procedure.

The SCIA's main institutional difference is that its authority stops at investigation. It can examine major crimes and gather investigative findings, but it has no power to bring accused people to criminal trial. That limitation separates the agency from the prosecution's former combined role.

The national prosecution's office previously had authority to investigate and indict accused people. In other words, it could handle both the inquiry and the formal decision to send a case to trial. The SCIA was spun off from that office as part of reforms intended to reduce prosecutors' power. Its placement also changed, moving under the Interior Ministry rather than the Ministry of Justice.

The result is a divided structure. The SCIA investigates offenses within its mandate, while the article does not specify which body decides every next step after investigation. Kim's confirmation hearing focused on making the new agency fair, transparent, and resistant to politically selective investigations.

Kim's past mattered because the SCIA was established to reduce the power of the prosecutors' office. Liberal lawmakers wanted to know whether a future SCIA chief had previously accepted politically motivated decisions. They questioned both his involvement in controversial prosecutions and his failure to openly oppose indictments they viewed as politically motivated.

Lawmakers cited the 2021 indictment of a former presidential secretary under former President Moon Jae-in. They also cited the 2020 indictment of prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong, who was brought to trial after allegedly using violence while investigating Rep. Han Dong-hoon. Kim denied claims that he knew about injustice inside the prosecutors' office but did nothing.

The scrutiny showed a trust problem surrounding the nomination. Before the hearing, liberal figures Choo Mi-ae and Kim Yong-min opposed it. Choo compared Kim with a subordinate of Adolf Hitler, while Kim Yong-min called him a subject of prosecutorial reform rather than a nominee.

Procedural justice in a criminal investigation means following fair and transparent procedures while searching for facts. Kim Ji-yong called it key to uncovering the truth. The idea matters because an investigation can harm a person's reputation and rights even before any trial takes place.

Fair procedures require investigators to focus on evidence and whether conduct actually constitutes a crime. They should not selectively target people or treat an accusation as proof of guilt. In the article's example, Kim said the SCIA would decisively close cases when the outcome did not establish a crime. That stops an unsupported allegation from becoming an ongoing official case.

Kim also promised human-rights protections and rigorous oversight. These measures could help ensure that people receive fair and transparent treatment during investigations. The SCIA's structure supports this goal by separating investigation from indictment, although the article does not detail every procedure the agency will use.