With little more than 10 days left before the Major Crimes Investigation Agency opens, a dispute has erupted over what critics call blackout hiring. After failing to explain to applicants rejected in the first round of special appointments why they were passed over, the agency's launch preparation team has also asked successful applicants to resign from their current posts before telling them where they will work or what they will do. As complaints spread over the opaque selection and assignment process, only about 200 people applied in the second round of special appointments, prompting warnings that recruitment is now in trouble.
According to legal sources on the 22nd, the launch preparation team notified applicants of first-round results on Sept. 16 for staff at grade 6 and below and on Sept. 18 for investigators at grade 5 and above. Rejected applicants, however, were given no separate explanation of why they were not appointed or how they were evaluated. The recruitment notice listed eligibility requirements and disqualifying conditions, but the standards used to assess experience and expertise were not disclosed.
The basic qualification set out in the notice was to be a Prosecution Service employee as of Oct. 1, 2026, and not to fall under the disqualifying conditions in Article 19 of the law establishing the agency. Under that law, people disqualified under Article 33 of the State Public Officials Act, along with those sentenced to imprisonment or higher and those removed from office by impeachment within the past five years, cannot be appointed as investigators.
Inside the prosecution service, however, some argue that many investigators with long careers in relevant fields were rejected even though they faced no such disqualifications.
"When we applied, we were told appointments would be decided based on position, career and expertise, but the actual results were different," said a legal source familiar with the prosecution service. "Even investigators recognized as specialists in their fields were rejected in large numbers despite having no disqualifying conditions."
Questions have also been raised about why some applicants were excluded when the agency is expected to fall short of its authorized headcount. "Even taking every first-round applicant, it would be hard to secure the staff needed, yet a large number were rejected," another legal source said. "Some say applicants with past disciplinary records or drunk-driving histories were accepted, which is deepening doubts about the fairness and consistency of the screening standards."
Among those who passed, resistance is growing to the approach of resigning first and being told of assignments later. The launch preparation team is said to have notified prospective appointees at grade 5 and above to move quickly through resignation procedures in line with guidance from their current institutions. Sitting prosecutors must resign to give up their prosecutorial status before they can be appointed to the agency.
Yet successful applicants have not been told whether they will work at the headquarters or at one of six regional offices, or which department and role they will be given. Work location and assigned duties are central conditions in deciding whether to move to the agency. Whether they will be placed in a department that uses the investigative experience they have built over years, and whether their preferred posting will be honored, can change an applicant's decision — but they must give up their prosecutorial posts before learning any of it.
"They tell us to hurry through the process of stepping down as prosecutors, but there is no explanation at all about work location or duties," said one prosecution official who passed the special appointment process. "Even people who planned to make a final decision after seeing their assignment now effectively have no choice." Another prosecution official said: "If we are assigned to a regional office other than the one we wanted, we need to prepare, including moving house. With the launch imminent, if assignment notices are delayed as well, there is realistically not enough time to respond."
The uncertainty appears to have affected additional recruitment. Only 201 people applied in the second round of special appointments, held from the 15th to the 20th of this month. Combined with the 1,761 who applied in the first round, the total comes to 1,961 — more than 900 short of the authorized headcount of 2,874.
The launch preparation team said positions left unfilled through the first and second rounds of special appointments "will be filled through open recruitment for experienced candidates, targeting police officers, lawyers, accountants and specialists in cyber technology and financial analysis."
Legal experts worry that unless the uncertainty over selection standards and assignment plans is resolved, more applicants will withdraw and staff will continue to leave. With the appointment of the agency's first chief delayed and the assembly of working-level staff also faltering, they say stabilizing the organization could take considerable time after it opens.
"The agency faces the task of merging staff who have worked in different organizations, including the prosecution service and the police, into a single body," one legal source said. "It could find itself having to resolve distrust and conflict over opaque personnel procedures before it even begins the work of integrating organizational cultures."
