The Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 7th, as the Democratic Party, the government, and the Presidential Office plan to finalize a government reorganization proposal at a high-level party-government-office meeting, including the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office and the establishment of a Prosecution Service and a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. Yonhap News.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporters Yang Jung-woo and Cha Min-ji = The Prosecutors' Office is to be abolished.

In its place, a Prosecution Service and a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (hereinafter "Investigation Agency") will be newly established to separate the existing prosecution and investigation functions of the public prosecutor's office.

The Prosecution Service will be placed under the Ministry of Justice, while the Investigation Agency will be under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of the Interior and Safety, and Han Jeoung-ae, Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, announced these plans on the 7th at the Government Complex Seoul, following their confirmation at a high-level meeting between the Democratic Party, the government, and the Presidential Office regarding the Lee Jae-myung administration's government reorganization proposal.

According to the proposal, the government will pursue the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office and the establishment of the Prosecution Service and the Investigation Agency by incorporating these measures into an amendment to the Government Organization Act.

The amendment is set to take effect one year after it is passed and finally promulgated.

To this end, a "pan-governmental task force for the reform of the prosecution system" will be established under the Prime Minister's Office, and detailed measures will be developed through close consultation between the party, the government, and the Presidential Office.

The budgetary functions of the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be taken over by the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget under the Prime Minister. It will also be responsible for establishing mid-to-long-term national development strategies.

This is intended to strengthen balanced budget compilation and allocation, as well as mutual oversight among economy-related ministries. The Minister of Planning and Budget will serve as a member of the State Council.

In addition, the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be renamed the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and will perform functions such as overall economic policy coordination, tax systems, and national treasury management. The Minister of Finance and Economy will also serve as the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy.

The Public Institution Management Committee will be placed under the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The domestic financial functions of the Financial Services Commission will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The remaining organization will be reorganized into the Financial Supervisory Commission to perform financial supervision functions.

The Financial Supervisory Commission will be equipped with a Securities and Futures Commission and a Financial Consumer Protection Commission.

The Financial Consumer Protection Bureau, currently an internal organization of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), will be separated and newly established as the Financial Consumer Protection Service, and both the FSS and the Financial Consumer Protection Service will be designated as public institutions.

The reorganization of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Financial Supervisory Commission will take effect on January 2 of next year.

The Ministry of Environment will be expanded and reorganized into the Ministry of Climate, Environment, and Energy, taking over energy policies previously managed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Furthermore, to unify broadcasting policy functions, the Korea Communications Commission will be abolished and replaced by the newly established "Broadcasting, Media, and Communications Commission." Through this, broadcasting and communications functions, which were previously split between the Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT, will be consolidated under the new commission.

Instead of the Minister of Science and ICT serving as Deputy Prime Minister, the existing position of Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs will be abolished, considering its broad policy scope and low effectiveness.

A position for a Second Vice Minister dedicated to small business owners will be created within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters, which is responsible for industrial safety policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, will be elevated to the vice-ministerial level.

Statistics Korea will be elevated to the National Data Agency under the Prime Minister, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will likewise be elevated to the Intellectual Property Agency under the Prime Minister.

Following this reorganization, the government structure will change from the current "19 ministries, 3 offices, 20 agencies, and 6 commissions" to "19 ministries, 6 offices, 19 agencies, and 6 commissions."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung stated during the briefing regarding the background of the reorganization, "Under the principle of minimizing the national fiscal burden and operating the government organization efficiently, we focused on reorganizing into a structure capable of performing tasks effectively."

Yonhap News