The presidential office has concluded that most of the allegations surrounding Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, are untrue. It instead praised Kim as having "a firm commitment to prosecution reform," signaling it will push ahead with his appointment. With hard-liners on prosecution reform within the ruling bloc opposed, however, the dispute is expected to continue in the National Assembly.
Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, held a briefing on the 1st and rebutted five allegations against Kim point by point: that he is a "pro-Yoon" prosecutor, aligned with former President Yoon Suk-yeol; that he joined a statement calling for reconsideration of disciplinary action sought against Yoon when he was prosecutor general; allegations over the indictment of former prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong on charges of abuse of authority and assault; whether he was involved in the indictment in the case of former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui; and claims that he refused forensic analysis in the Channel A case.
The presidential office said all five allegations were either untrue or one-sided claims. It drew a firm line on the pro-Yoon allegation raised by hard-liners in the ruling bloc, calling it a "false claim." Sung said Kim "ordered a reinvestigation into Choi Eun-soon, the mother-in-law of former President Yoon Suk-yeol," adding that "as a result, he was demoted to a regional post in June 2022 and effectively driven out a year later." On the allegation that he joined a statement arguing the disciplinary action against Yoon as prosecutor general was unjust, Sung said the intent was "that the process should be supplemented so there would be no procedural problems."
It is unusual for the presidential office, speaking for the president who holds the appointment power, to directly rebut objections to a specific nominee with detailed supporting grounds. In particular, the office warned hard-liners in the ruling bloc that voices questioning Kim's career as a prosecutor amounted to "something closer to destruction in the name of reform." President Lee Jae-myung also defended Kim in the early hours of the same day, citing the same points on his X account, formerly Twitter. At a meeting with senior secretaries later that day, Lee said "the mistaken era in which prosecutors acted as political prosecutors is coming to an end," and called for faster follow-up measures.
The presidential office plans to submit a consent motion for Kim's appointment to the National Assembly shortly. Lee is expected to proceed with the appointment after the ruling party settles its position through the confirmation hearing process.
Opposition within the ruling bloc continued. Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae wrote on Facebook that Kim was like "going to a restaurant someone recommended, and it was a mess," adding that "it is only right for someone who has experienced it firsthand to point out what needs to be watched for." Rep. Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, a hard-liner within the party, likened the nomination to "appointing a pro-Japanese collaborator as chair of the committee investigating anti-national activities."
