Minister Says Korea’s New Law Enforcement Agencies Will Stabilize by December

South Korea’s two newly established law enforcement agencies are expected to overcome their early operational problems and function smoothly by December, according to the minister responsible for coordinating government policy.

Minister for Government Policy Coordination Lim Ki-keun gave the timetable Tuesday during a parliamentary audit of his office. He acknowledged that the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency have faced confusion and practical difficulties since beginning operations on Oct. 2.

The agencies were created as part of President Lee Jae Myung’s drive to reform the prosecution system. The restructuring removed investigative authority from the prosecution and divided responsibilities under a new institutional arrangement. The reform was intended to address longstanding concerns that prosecutors had abused their investigative power.

The transition, however, has not been seamless. Lim identified insufficient staffing and uncertainty over the agencies’ respective roles among the problems affecting their work. His comments amounted to a public acknowledgment that preparations had not prevented disruption during the opening stage. He apologized for the inconvenience caused by the difficulties.

Despite those setbacks, Lim said the government would address the problems and ensure that both agencies could operate without difficulty by December. The pledge gives officials roughly two months from the agencies’ launch to resolve staffing gaps, clarify responsibilities and establish a stable working structure.

The statement places a concrete deadline on one of the administration’s signature institutional reforms. It also shifts attention from the political decision to reorganize prosecutorial powers toward the practical question of whether the replacement bodies can carry out their duties effectively.

The early problems underscore the implementation risks that can accompany a major reallocation of law enforcement authority. A shortage of personnel can constrain case handling, while unclear divisions of responsibility can create delays or uncertainty over which agency should take charge. Lim did not provide detailed staffing numbers or a step-by-step remedial plan in his remarks.

Parliamentary scrutiny is therefore likely to remain focused on whether the government can meet the December target. For the administration, the immediate test is to turn the new legal structure into an operational system while minimizing disruption to the public and to ongoing law enforcement work.