The process of recommending the first chief of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency is nearing its final stage, but doubts are growing over whether the head will be appointed in time. With the agency set to open in October, there is little time to complete all the steps beforehand — candidate recommendation and nomination, a confirmation hearing and the appointment itself. Unlike the investigation agency, the timeline for appointing the chief of the Public Prosecution Agency remains even less clear. Within legal circles and beyond, some say the government and the National Assembly must move faster, warning that if the appointment of the investigation agency chief is not completed next month, the agency could launch without a head.
According to legal sources on the 26th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety was accepting public nominations for candidates for the investigation agency chief through that day. The ministry had earlier formed a candidate recommendation committee under the Act on the Organization and Operation of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency.
Once the nomination of candidates is complete, the interior minister will present a suitable figure as the nominee for the agency chief to the recommendation committee, which meets early next month. After reviewing eligibility, the committee recommends three or more people to the minister as candidates. The minister then nominates a single final candidate, who is appointed by the president after a National Assembly confirmation hearing.
The problem is that there is not much time left before the confirmation hearing for the investigation agency chief. Under Article 6 of the Confirmation Hearing Act, once a motion for consent to appointment is submitted, the Assembly speaker must immediately report it to the plenary session and refer it to a committee. The National Assembly must also complete its review or confirmation hearing within 20 days of the date the motion is submitted. But considering the Assembly's schedule and the Chuseok holiday, there is little time to hold a hearing. The Assembly holds the opening ceremony of its regular session on the 1st of next month, followed by floor speeches by negotiating-bloc leaders on the 7th and 8th. Questions to the government are also scheduled for the 9th through the 11th and the 14th.
One legal official familiar with the Assembly's workings pointed out that "lawmakers may head to their constituencies ahead of the Chuseok holiday that begins on the 24th," adding that "considering the Assembly's schedule, the preparation period for the confirmation hearing and the Chuseok holiday, the confirmation hearing for the investigation agency chief must be held by mid-September at the latest." Given that the recommendation committee meets early next month, the official meant that the nomination and the Assembly's confirmation process must move quickly for the first agency chief to be appointed before the launch.
The official added that "the 28th to 30th of next month, after Chuseok, is effectively the last possible line for holding the confirmation hearing for the investigation agency chief," and that "if the hearing cannot be held by then and the president does not make the appointment, the agency may have to open without a head."
For the Public Prosecution Agency, even the schedule — including the formation of a candidate recommendation committee — has not been made public. With the entire process left in the dark, from forming and convening the committee to recommending candidates, nomination, the Assembly's confirmation procedure and appointment, some say the appointment of the first Public Prosecution Agency chief faces an even tighter timeline.
One prosecution official said that "the roughly 20 days given to the preparation team after the confirmation documents are submitted to the Assembly is effectively the only preparation period," adding that "for the Public Prosecution Agency chief, the preparation process itself is not known, so it is unclear whether the pick can even be made in time."
Another legal official pointed out that "with the parliamentary audit of government agencies beginning on October 6, the Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee also faces the burden of preparing for both the confirmation hearing and the audit at the same time," and that "if this is pushed back to October, it could overlap with the audit schedule, preventing the hearing from being held in time and leaving the top posts vacant for an extended period." The official stressed that "the confirmation hearing and other procedures should not be focused solely on appointment before the launch," and that "given that these are the inaugural chiefs, the work of thoroughly vetting whether the candidates are suitable for the roles of investigation and prosecution agency chief must also be done properly."
