SCIA Allows Appointments Beyond Quota for “Level 2 and 3 Special Cases”... Actual Positions May Be One Rank Lower

Questions Remain Over Whether This Will Serve as an Effective Incentive for Prosecutors

It has been confirmed that, among prosecutors transferring to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), those who are specially appointed as Level 2 or Level 3 investigators can still be appointed to those ranks, even if the number of such appointments exceeds the prescribed personnel quota for each rank. This is due to a special provision that considers the number of excess appointees as a separate quota for each corresponding rank.

However, it is also pointed out that a Level 2 investigator may be assigned to a Level 3 position, and a Level 3 investigator may be assigned to a Level 4 position. This raises concerns that the "guarantee of equivalent rank," introduced as an incentive to encourage prosecutors to join the SCIA, does not necessarily translate into an equivalent actual post.

On the 11th, an appointment briefing for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Serious Crime Investigation Agency was held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The photo shows the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the day. Photo by Yonhap News

According to coverage by The Asia Business Daily on August 12, Article 2 of the supplementary provisions in the draft “Enforcement Rules on the Organization of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and Its Affiliated Institutions” announced by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety contains these special arrangements regarding personnel quotas and appointments.

According to the draft rules, even if the number of specially appointed Level 2 or Level 3 personnel exceeds the set quotas of 16 and 30, respectively, the excess number is regarded as a separate quota for each corresponding rank. Thus, it is possible to appoint individuals to those ranks beyond the original personnel caps.

For example, if 40 prosecutors are specially appointed as Level 3, based on criteria such as legal career experience, the 10 appointees exceeding the original quota of 30 would be considered as filling additional, separately recognized Level 3 positions, allowing all 40 to serve as Level 3 investigators.

According to the special appointment criteria made public by the government, prosecutors transferring to the SCIA will be appointed as follows: chief prosecutors will be Level 1, deputy chief and division chief prosecutors will be Level 2, other prosecutors with at least 10 years of legal experience will be Level 3, and those with less than 10 years of experience will be appointed as Level 4 investigators.

The issue is that the appointed rank and the actual position assigned may not necessarily match. The draft rules also include a separate provision that, if the current number of specially appointed Level 2 or Level 3 investigators exceeds the personnel quota, Level 2 investigators may be assigned to Level 3 positions, and Level 3 investigators may be assigned to Level 4 positions. While the official rank is maintained, the actual position assigned may be one level lower.

As a result, there are questions about whether this special provision, which recognizes an appropriate rank based on existing career experience without regard to quotas, can serve as a tangible incentive to attract prosecutors to the SCIA. The special appointment for prosecutors and similar personnel will be applied temporarily, only until April 30, 2027. After that date, new employees will be required to go through separate procedures such as experienced hires.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.