Lee appoints Kim Ji-yong to lead South Korea’s new serious crimes agency
The appointment fills the leadership post nearly two weeks after the agency opened as part of a criminal justice overhaul. Lawmakers offered both favorable and unfavorable assessments of Kim.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung appointed Kim Ji-yong on Oct. 15 as the inaugural head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, filling its top post nearly two weeks after the agency opened. The appointment gives the new body a chief as it takes on major investigations under the interior ministry.
The agency launched on Oct. 2 as part of a criminal justice overhaul that removes prosecutors’ power to conduct direct investigations, according to Yonhap News Agency. Its leadership appointment drew scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about how that overhaul will work in practice.
How Kim Ji-yong’s appointment proceeded
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung recommended Kim on Sept. 7, 38 days before Lee approved the appointment. Lee submitted Kim’s nomination to the National Assembly on Oct. 1, according to The Korea Herald, a day before the new agency began operating.
The National Assembly’s public administration and security committee held Kim’s confirmation hearing on Oct. 14 and adopted its report on Oct. 15. The report included both favorable and unfavorable assessments of his suitability, according to The Korea Herald and Yonhap.
Why lawmakers questioned the appointment
Some ruling Democratic Party lawmakers joined opposition lawmakers in questioning Kim’s suitability, The Korea Herald reported. The Rebuilding Korea Party formally opposed his appointment. Yonhap reported that critics, including some Democratic Party lawmakers, feared his appointment could set back prosecution reform because he had served as a prosecutor under former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration.
Lee ordered additional vetting amid those objections. The presidential office later said allegations against Kim had been found untrue, according to both reports. Neither report details the allegations or the vetting materials, so that finding remains an account of the presidential office’s position.
Kim pledged to end the politicization of investigations and protect political neutrality and investigative independence, Yonhap reported. Those commitments address a central concern raised during the appointment process: whether the new investigative body can carry out its work independently as prosecutorial powers change.
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Sources and context
- Lee appoints serious crimes agency chief, ending two-week vacancyThe Korea Herald
- Lee formally appoints inaugural chief of agency in charge of major investigations | Yonhap News AgencyYonhap News Agency
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.