A major justice-system overhaul begins under pressure

South Korea’s new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) is scheduled to open on October 2, replacing the prosecution service’s role in investigating seven categories of serious crime. A separate Public Prosecution Office will handle prosecution functions (bringing criminal cases before a court). The change marks a major reorganization of the country’s criminal justice system, but the new agency is due to begin work before important parts of its staffing, facilities and technology are ready.

The transition also coincides with a revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect. The law removes prosecutors’ direct investigative authority, a power that had remained in place since the act was enacted in 1954. In practical terms, the change separates investigation from prosecution: investigators gather evidence and build cases, while prosecutors decide whether to bring cases to trial.

The new agency is opening with roughly two-thirds of its planned staff, limited office space and a case-management system that is not yet fully operational.

The overhaul replaces an institution established when the South Korean government was founded in 1948. That scale makes the launch more than a change of name: responsibilities, personnel, records, working procedures and cooperation between agencies all have to shift at once.

Recruitment and leadership remain incomplete

As of October 1, the day before the SCIA’s launch, 1,962 people had applied for special appointments, against an authorized workforce of 2,874. That amounts to about 68% of the planned staffing level. The figures point to a substantial gap at the moment the agency is expected to begin receiving and investigating cases.

The shortfall is especially pronounced among senior investigators. The agency planned 629 positions for investigators in grades 1 through 5, but had received only 212 applications for those roles. These are leadership and supervisory positions that can shape how teams are organized, how investigative decisions are reviewed and how procedures are applied across the agency.

The appointment process for Kim Ji-yong, nominated to become the SCIA’s first head, was delayed. As a result, senior investigators were assigned on the eve of the launch without the recommendation process that had been expected to involve the agency chief. Some prosecutors and investigators transferring to the new organization reportedly learned their work locations only that day, adding to uncertainty about where they should report and how their teams would operate.

The leadership gap extends beyond the SCIA. At the time of the launch, the heads of the Justice Ministry, the Public Prosecution Office, the SCIA and the National Police Agency were all vacant. The absence of permanent leaders can make it harder to settle questions of responsibility and coordination just as agencies are being asked to adopt a new division of work.

Offices are not fully ready for staff

The SCIA is also beginning operations without all of its basic facilities in place. Its headquarters and Seoul office are due to occupy floors 2 through 17 of the Renais Square building in central Seoul, but only six floors were reported to be immediately usable. That leaves a significant difference between the space leased for the agency and the space its employees can use at the start.

The headquarters building also lacks a holding area for people who have been arrested or placed in pretrial detention. A holding area is a secure facility where suspects can be kept temporarily while legal and investigative steps are taken. Without one on site, staff may have to depend on other facilities and additional arrangements when handling detained suspects.

Office readiness affects more than convenience. Investigators need secure rooms for interviews and evidence, reliable communications with colleagues and other agencies, and systems for controlling access to sensitive information. When those pieces are incomplete, routine tasks can take longer and staff may have to rely on temporary procedures.

Casework may rely on paper for months

The agency’s criminal justice information system, known as KICS (the digital network used to register, assign and manage criminal cases), is not yet complete. At opening, its available functions are expected to be limited mainly to receiving cases transferred from other bodies, registering those cases and assigning them to investigators.

More extensive case-processing functions are not expected to come online until the end of the year. Until then, investigators may need to create case records on paper and keep some logs by hand. This is a basic but consequential limitation: a digital case system normally helps staff track documents, deadlines, evidence and decisions in one place, much like a shared, secure file system for an entire agency.

Building a dedicated KICS system for the SCIA is expected to take about three years. That estimate means the initial workaround is not simply a matter of days. The agency will need to manage the risks of paper-based recordkeeping while developing a longer-term digital platform, including the potential for slower searches, duplicate entries or delays in sharing information.

For investigators, an incomplete case system can mean more manual paperwork and slower access to records at a time when the agency is also learning new procedures.

The immediate question is how the agency will maintain secure and consistent records during the interim period. Paper files can be used to document investigations, but they require careful storage, tracking and transfer—especially when cases move between agencies or when several teams need access to the same information.

New legal rules and joint investigations are still in transition

The Public Prosecution Office has also made its first personnel appointments under the revised system, but the supporting regulations and internal rules are not fully prepared. More than 100 subordinate laws and rules are said to require amendment or creation. These detailed provisions explain how broad laws work in day-to-day situations, so gaps can leave officials unsure about forms, deadlines and the exact steps they must follow.

The transition has also raised questions about joint investigations. Several existing task forces are closing as the prosecution service is abolished and prosecution-led joint bodies end their work. A team investigating the Itaewon disaster stopped operating on September 30 after one year and two months of work. Separate joint units focused on voice-phishing fraud and financial and securities crimes were also disbanded.

The SCIA plans to continue joint investigations by bringing in personnel from relevant organizations, including the police, the Financial Services Commission and the National Tax Service. Such cooperation can combine different expertise—for example, investigators may need financial regulators to help trace suspicious transactions or tax officials to interpret complex financial records. But making that model work requires clear authority, stable staffing and reliable channels for sharing evidence.

The timing of the closures matters because criminal cases do not stop when an organization is reorganized. If a successor team is not ready to take over files, expertise and investigative responsibilities, cases may face delays or lose continuity. The new agency and its partner organizations will therefore need to clarify who handles each case and how evidence and records are transferred.

A historic change, with execution now under scrutiny

The government is replacing a prosecution institution that has existed since 1948 and ending prosecutors’ direct investigative powers after 72 years under the 1954 Criminal Procedure Act. Supporters of separating investigation and prosecution may see the redesign as a way to divide responsibilities. Whatever the intended benefits, the launch’s immediate test is whether agencies can carry out their legal duties without gaps during the transition.

The changes are visible in the physical details as well as the legal framework. At prosecution offices across the country, workers have been removing prosecution-service signs and logos, including lettering on a manhole cover at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Meanwhile, prosecutors moving to the new agency or leaving the service have been posting resignation messages as the old structure comes to an end.

Several practical measures will shape the first months of the SCIA’s work:

  • Fill vacancies, particularly senior investigative and supervisory posts.
  • Complete the office and security infrastructure, including usable work areas and facilities for detained suspects.
  • Set interim recordkeeping rules while the full KICS system is being developed.
  • Finish the supporting regulations needed to make the revised law workable in everyday cases.
  • Define how joint investigations and case transfers will operate among the SCIA, police and other public agencies.

What to watch next

The opening date is fixed, but the agency’s ability to operate smoothly will depend on how quickly these unfinished elements are addressed. In the short term, staff may need to work around incomplete facilities, paper records and unsettled procedures. Over the longer term, the reform’s effectiveness will be judged not only by the new division of legal powers, but also by whether investigations remain timely, evidence is handled securely and cases continue without interruption.