The lack of preparation at the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, which launched on Oct. 2, came under scrutiny at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee. Opposition lawmakers went on the offensive after Lim Eun-jung, head of the agency's Gwangju office, publicly criticized Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to become its first commissioner, saying the agency's discipline and neutrality were being shaken. As criticism mounted over the agency's hasty launch without a leader in place, Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung offered an apology.
Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the People Power Party said at the committee's audit on the 6th that Lim publicly opposed Kim just four days after the ministry announced the appointments of the deputy commissioner and senior-level leadership. She described it as a subordinate publicly criticizing a superior before his confirmation hearing had even been held.
Amid the internal backlash, the schedule for Kim's confirmation hearing has yet to be fixed. Kim was nominated on Sept. 8, but the submission of his confirmation request was delayed as some within the ruling bloc criticized him as a prosecutor loyal to former President Yoon Suk-yeol. President Lee Jae-myung approved the confirmation request on Oct. 2, 24 days after the nomination. The rival parties plan to discuss holding the hearing on Oct. 14 at a full committee meeting on the 7th.
Responding to Rep. Kwon Young-jin of the People Power Party, who said the public was uneasy about the agency being launched without a leader, Yoon said he had done his best but felt deeply sorry.
Staffing shortages also emerged as a key issue. Yoon said the agency currently has about 1,900 employees, or 66% of its authorized headcount. Opposition lawmakers pressed Yoon with demands for additional materials, including the agency's organizational chart.
Even Lim, who had argued Kim was unfit for the post, spoke publicly that day about the agency's lack of readiness. On her first day at work, she said normal operations were impossible for the time being, adding that no budget had been allocated and the situation was in disarray. She said officials at the director level and above were notified of their assignments on Thursday, the day before the agency opened, and that the organizational chart had not been issued even by the time it began operations.
The government says it will address the shortcomings of the early launch phase. Yoon said the agency would fill its staffing gaps through mid-career competitive hiring of police officers, lawyers and accountants. On the controversy surrounding Kim, he stressed that he had vetted the nominee as carefully as one would test stepping stones before crossing, and submitted the confirmation request only after confirming there were no major flaws that would impair his performance of duties.
Meanwhile, the parties clashed that day over a police summons issued to Rep. Kim Jae-sup of the People Power Party. The People Power Party protested that summoning an opposition lawmaker on the first day of the parliamentary audit amounted to obstruction of the audit, while the Democratic Party of Korea countered that a normal investigative procedure should not be cast as a political attack.
