"The workload has definitely increased due to preparations for the Major Crime Investigation Agency. With that increase comes greater responsibility."
A senior official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety who was recently interviewed conveyed this assessment of the internal atmosphere ahead of the MCIA's launch next month on the 2nd. As final tasks continue—from organizational structure and staffing to selecting the first director—the related workload has increased significantly. The burden is also compounded by the fact that the National Police Agency is already an external agency, and now a new large-scale law enforcement authority is being established under its purview.
With the launch of the MCIA, the role of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will expand further. As the Prosecution Service is abolished, a new criminal justice system begins where the MCIA handles major crime investigations and the Public Prosecution Service manages indictment and prosecution. Among these, the MCIA, with a planned staffing level of 2,874 personnel, will be established under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior and Safety.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is responsible for laying the foundation for the new law enforcement authority, from establishing its organizational structure and job classifications to selecting the director and implementing special hiring provisions for former Prosecution Service personnel. Since the 15th, a second round of special hiring for former Prosecution Service staff has also been underway.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's role does not end with pre-launch preparations. Under the MCIA Act, investigators at grade 5 or above are appointed by the President upon recommendation by the MCIA director and nomination by the Minister of the Interior and Safety, while investigators at grade 6 and below are appointed directly by the Minister of the Interior and Safety. This means that even after the launch, the Minister of the Interior and Safety will retain authority over personnel matters related to the MCIA.
What is crucial is what comes next. The MCIA differs in nature from the National Police Agency. It will bring together personnel with diverse careers and organizational cultures—centered on investigators from the Prosecution Service, along with police officers, lawyers, and experts in accounting, finance, and cyber fields—all working within a single organization. In fact, staffing has already faced significant challenges; for instance, out of 2,376 former Prosecution Service personnel who applied for the first round of special hiring, 615 withdrew their applications.
This is why it is difficult to be optimistic about the MCIA's successful establishment based solely on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's experience in overseeing the National Police Agency. The ministry must unify different organizational cultures, stabilize new personnel and organizational systems, and simultaneously ensure the independence of the MCIA as a major crime law enforcement authority. Until now, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's task was to create the structural framework for the MCIA; starting next month, it will begin the work of ensuring that people within this structure function properly. The increase in workload due to the MCIA's launch is not the only challenge. How stably the new organization takes root is also a responsibility the Ministry of the Interior and Safety must shoulder.
in OPINION
