Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung said on the 6th that he was "deeply sorry" that the Major Crimes Investigation Agency launched without its inaugural commissioner in place.
Yoon made the remarks during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, responding to a question from Rep. Kwon Young-jin of the People Power Party, who said the public was anxious and concerned about the agency launching without a leader.
The agency began operations on the 2nd with the top post vacant. The ministry recommended attorney Kim Ji-yong, a former prosecutor, as its first commissioner on Sept. 7, and President Lee Jae-myung nominated him the following day. But approval of the confirmation hearing request was delayed, and the request was not submitted to the National Assembly until the 1st of this month.
Concerns over the vacancy and the agency's staffing also came from the ruling party. Asked by Rep. Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party why the confirmation hearing request had been delayed, Yoon said: "The agency represents a momentous overhaul of the criminal justice system for the first time in 70 years, so we did our utmost to proceed step by step, carefully and without any shortcomings. After reviewing the issues raised with the mindset of testing each stepping stone, we confirmed there were no major flaws in his ability to perform the duties and then requested the confirmation hearing."
Yoon added: "We should have given enough time for verification through the confirmation process, and we tried our best to complete the hearing and appointment procedures before the agency's launch, but it did not work out. Despite the limited time, I ask that you conduct the verification thoroughly."
Lawmakers also criticized a lack of diversity among the agency's senior ranks. Kim noted that all seven first-grade investigators are former judges or prosecutors, with no one from the police. Yoon explained that unlike the commissioner, who holds a political appointment, first-grade investigators face a mandatory retirement age of 60, meaning police officials who have already retired cannot take the posts. "A first-grade position corresponds to the rank of senior superintendent general in the police, and there are only seven such officers, so it was difficult to ask serving officers to transfer," he said.
Staffing shortages were also raised. The agency currently has 1,900 personnel, or 66.1% of its full complement of 2,874. The total comprises 1,837 staff transferred from the prosecution service under special appointment rules, six first-grade hires recruited for their experience, and 57 officials dispatched from other agencies to the joint investigation division.
On future hiring, Yoon said about 15% of the positions would be filled through competitive recruitment of experienced candidates, including former police officers, attorneys, legal professionals and accountants. "The remaining 10% will be left open for new hires next year," he said.
