Finance Ministry reorganization due by Jan. 2; Environment Ministry to assume energy policy control on Wednesday
The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed an amendment to the Government Organization Act, laying out a timetable for the overhaul of ministries and the breakup of the nation’s prosecution service.
Under the plan, approved during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office would be formally abolished on Oct. 1, 2026, following a one-year grace period.
Its powers will be divided the following day between two new bodies: an investigative agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and a prosecution office for indictments within the Ministry of Justice. The move will shut down the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office some 78 years after its establishment.
Presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said in a Tuesday briefing that President Lee Jae Myung has "stressed the need for closer cooperation and coordination among ministries" as the government embarks on a sweeping reorganization.
According to Kim, the president highlighted that breaking down barriers between ministries remains the administration’s biggest challenge. He instructed relevant ministers to hold frequent coordination meetings and report major issues directly to him.
Kim added that Lee also urged Cabinet members to focus on results, making full use of their mandates while taking responsibility for outcomes. The remarks, Kim noted, reflect the president’s intention to build a government capable of producing tangible achievements and strengthening public confidence in its effectiveness.
Lee also criticized the prosecution during the Cabinet meeting, saying prosecutors have been filing charges in cases without sufficient grounds and pursuing appeals after acquittals. He said the actions had caused "unnecessary hardship for the public."
Lee instructed Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho to review the current appeals system. The president said that while the basic principle of criminal law is to avoid convicting an innocent person even if it means letting several offenders go free, the prosecution has been acting in the opposite manner.
Besides prosecutorial reform, budgetary affairs will be split from the Ministry of Economy and Finance from Jan. 2. A reconstituted Ministry of Strategy and Finance will continue to oversee taxation, economic and financial policy, while the budget planning office will be transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office. This effectively reverses the 2008 merger that had created the current Finance Ministry.
Other structural changes will take effect immediately upon promulgation of the law on Wednesday.
A new Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will be launched the same day, expanding the former Environment Ministry into a body integrating climate policy with energy portfolios such as renewables, decarbonization and industrial transition.
Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan said the revamped ministry would act as a “driving force” in Korea’s green transformation. It will have two vice ministers: One overseeing conventional environmental policy areas such as water, air quality and chemical safety and another focusing on climate and energy, including hydrogen, nuclear power and the power grid.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will also be strengthened and rebranded.
While its English name remains unchanged, the Korean will shift from “Women and Family Ministry” to “Gender Equality and Family Ministry.” The reorganized body will gain a larger mandate as the control tower for gender equality policy, with expanded divisions and staffing.
It will also take over employment equality functions from the Labor Ministry, including programs to narrow the gender pay gap and support women’s careers.
Statistics Korea and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will be elevated into independent agencies under the Prime Minister’s Office, renamed the National Data Office and the Intellectual Property Office, respectively.
In addition, the education minister's role as deputy prime minister will be transferred to the science minister. The finance minister will continue to act as the other deputy prime minister.
Separately, the Cabinet signed off on the Broadcast and Media Communications Commission Act, to be promulgated Wednesday. The law dissolves the Korea Communications Commission, set up in 2008, and replaces it with a new Broadcast Media and Telecommunications Commission under the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Tuesday’s decisions follow last week’s votes in the 300-seat National Assembly. The amendment to the Government Organization Act, proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, passed Friday by 174 to 1, with five abstentions. The Broadcast and Media Communications Commission Act was passed the next day by 176 to 1.
Staff reporters Choi Jeong-yoon and Lee Jung-joo contributed to this article. -- Ed.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
