External Experts to Review Legality of SCIA Investigations... Approved by Cabinet

Enforcement decree, organizational structure, and appointment regulations approved on August 18

2,874 total staff; Seoul office to be assigned 1,089 personnel

Ministry of the Interior and Safety proceeds with candidate recommendation committee formation and investigator appointments

The Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), scheduled to be launched on October 2, will be composed of a headquarters and six regional offices, with a total staffing of 2,874 personnel. Every regional office will have specialized investigation departments by type of serious crime, and an external expert review process will be established to ensure the legality of investigations.

Yoon Hojung, Minister of the Interior and Safety. June 16, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on August 18 that the government had approved the SCIA's enforcement decree, organizational structure, and appointment regulations during the Cabinet meeting. The approved regulations contain detailed operating standards, organizational structure and staffing, as well as specific provisions necessary for managing investigator personnel.

First, the appointment process for SCIA commissioner has been specified so that a candidate can be appointed based on neutrality and expertise. The candidate recommendation committee must recommend at least three candidates among those deemed qualified. From among the recommended candidates, the Minister of the Interior and Safety will nominate one person, who will then be subject to a National Assembly confirmation hearing before the President makes the final appointment.

The regulations also provide for an investigation review process, allowing external experts to examine whether SCIA investigations are appropriate and lawful. Parties involved in a case may apply for a case review, and the regulations stipulate that the SCIA commissioner and related officials should respect the results of the review as much as possible.

SCIA will be composed of a headquarters dedicated to establishing investigative policy and overseeing cases concerning seven major categories of serious crimes, including corruption, economic crimes, and drug offenses, and six regional offices that conduct investigations directly in their respective jurisdictions. Each regional office will set up dedicated investigative departments for each type of serious crime, and will also establish specialized units reflecting the unique characteristics of each region. An organization in charge of handling prosecutor-requested supplementary investigations, in accordance with recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, will also be established.

The total SCIA workforce will consist of 2,567 investigators and 307 administrative employees, totaling 2,874 personnel. With its broad jurisdiction and high concentration of serious crimes, the Seoul office will host the largest staffing, with 1,089 personnel. Prosecutors and prosecution investigators from the Public Prosecutors’ Office may be appointed as SCIA officials. Depending on previous positions and legal experience, those at the deputy chief prosecutor or division chief prosecutor level will be appointed as Grade 2 investigators; those with more than 10 years of legal experience will be appointed as Grade 3; and those with less than 10 years will be appointed as Grade 4 investigators.

The Ministry plans to proceed with follow-up steps such as forming the candidate recommendation committee for the SCIA commissioner and appointing investigators. It also intends to inspect the progress of facility preparations and system establishment by area, and will make every effort to ensure the SCIA launches as planned on October 2.

Yoon Hojung, Minister of the Interior and Safety, stated, “We will make SCIA a specialized investigative agency that thoroughly protects the public from livelihood crimes such as voice phishing, financial crimes, and virtual asset crimes, as well as crimes targeting vulnerable groups such as child abuse and sexual offenses.” He added, “We will do our best to ensure that SCIA gains the public’s trust as a professional investigative body and that the separation of investigation and prosecution is firmly established in our criminal justice system.”

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