June 28, Building 5, where the Office of the Crime Investigation Office for Senior Officials in the Government Complex Gwacheon is located. News 1
The competition rate for hiring prosecutors and investigators at the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office (Public Investigation Office), which recently closed the application, has dropped to half compared to the previous screening. Analysts say that this is because the image of the Airborne Service has deteriorated due to the fact that the job security is inferior to that of other investigative agencies, and controversies such as the ‘Emperor Investigation’ are added.
According to the legal circles on the 3rd, the Ministry of Airborne Affairs received applications for the recruitment of prosecutors by the 22nd of last month, and as a result, 71 people applied for the recruitment of 10 people. It’s about a 7 to 1 competition. In detail, 66 people applied for the position of the chief prosecutor who selects 2 people and 5 people for the position of the general prosecutor who selects 8 people. In the case of recruitment of investigators received by the 2nd of this month, 66 applied for 15 recruits. The competition ratio is about 4 to 1. In the future, candidates will be selected through document screening and interview.
Looking at the competition rate itself, it can be evaluated as a good result. However, compared to the recruitment in the first half of this year, the competition rate has decreased to half. In the first half of last year, 233 people applied to recruit 23 prosecutors, and the competition ratio was over 10:1. In the case of investigators, 293 people were recruited for 30 people, so the competition ratio was also about 10 to 1.
One-fourth of the number of applicants
In terms of the number of applicants, not the competition, the situation is even worse. Compared to the first half, the number of applicants in the second half of the year was about a third of the prosecutors and about a quarter of the investigators.
In the first half of the hiring process, despite the high enthusiasm for application, there were few people who could actually be hired, so fewer people were finally selected than planned. The Airborne Service tried to recruit 23 prosecutors, but only hired 13. In the case of investigators, they tried to recruit 30 people, but only 18 were appointed. There is an observation that there is a possibility that the vacancy may not be filled even in the second half of the year when the enthusiasm for application has cooled. This is a point that can deepen the concerns of Director Kim Jin-wook, who is trying to make the airborne service as a whole as soon as possible. Currently, the Public Security Service is suffering from a manpower shortage while investigating allegations of preferential hiring by Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, allegations of ‘false preparation and leakage of Yoon Jung-cheon’s interview report by Prosecutor Lee Kyu-won’ and ‘Optimus incident’ by former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.
On August 2nd, Kim Jin-wook, Director of the Air Transport Department, is leaving for work. yunhap news
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There is an opinion that the environment in which the airlift service is placed has greatly reduced the number of applicants. Ha Tae-young, a professor at Dong-A University’s Graduate School of Law, said, “More than anything else, the poor job security compared to other institutions seems to make them hesitant to apply.”
Director Kim Jin-wook also regretted at the first press conference after taking office on June 17, saying, “I heard that there were many people who were hesitant to apply due to issues of term and reappointment during the last (first half) hiring process.” Currently, public prosecutors can be reappointed up to three times per three-year term, and investigators can be reappointed for six-year terms. In the worst case, prosecutors should only work for three years and then retire. A high-ranking official of the Airlift Service, who requested anonymity, said, “Excellent resources with experience in the prosecution or police will not want to give up their current stable position and come to the Airlift Service as a contract worker.”
“Investigation of a case without the right of public prosecution… You may feel weird.”
In the case of the Airborne Prosecutors’ Office, the unclear status is also cited as a disadvantage. The Ministry of Public Safety and Security has both investigative and prosecuting powers only for judges, prosecutors, and police officers above police officers, and has only investigative powers for the remaining high-ranking public officials. Seung Jae-hyeon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Criminal Policy, said, “The core authority of a prosecutor is the right to prosecuting, so when investigating a case that has only the investigative power, it is ambiguous to see it as a prosecutor. If it is concluded that there is no right of non-prosecution, then the prosecutor of the Public Air Service will be inferior to the police who have the right of non-prosecution.” Researcher Seung added, “Prosecutors of the Airborne Service seem to feel embarrassed.”
It is also evaluated that incentives are insufficient. Currently, if you work as a prosecutor for a certain period of time, you may be exempted from part of the examination for obtaining a paralegal qualification, but there are no related benefits for investigators in the Public Service Investigation Service. In this regard, Director Kim met with Lee Nam-cheol, president of the Korean Bar Association on the 23rd of last month and said, “Let’s cooperate so that investigators of the Airborne Service can also receive benefits.”
The damage to the image is pointed out as a factor that aggravates the situation even further, as the Ministry of Airborne Affairs is embroiled in the controversy over the ’emperor investigation’ against Lee Seong-yoon, chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, and the suspicion of a reporter’s inspection. Jung Woong-seok, president of the Korean Society of Criminal Proceedings Law (Professor Seo Kyung-University), said, “If the government changes, there is also the possibility that there is a possibility that the agency will disappear.”
Reporter Minjoong Kim kim.minjoong1@joongang.co.kr
