Kim Ji-yong, the first chief of South Korea's new Major Crimes Investigation Agency, said he would put an end to the politicization of criminal investigations but declined to state a clear position on whether he will attend Cabinet meetings, a question that has drawn criticism over political neutrality. The agency has already received a series of complaints targeting President Lee Jae-myung, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, and senior government officials. By stressing investigative independence while leaving open the possibility of attending Cabinet meetings, where he would come face to face with the president, Kim has failed to dispel concerns about neutrality, critics said.
At his first doorstepping session since taking office, held on the 19th at the agency's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim said the politicization of investigations lay at the root of past abuses by the prosecution service. "I will establish this as an investigative agency the public can trust by upholding fairness, neutrality and procedural justice without fail," he said.
He was far more guarded on the question of Cabinet meetings. Asked whether he intends to attend, Kim said he would "review the relevant laws and consult with relevant agencies before making an appropriate decision." He stopped short of ruling out attendance at a forum where the head of an investigative agency sits directly across from the president, even as he pledged to end the politicization of investigations.
Whether the heads of investigative bodies should attend Cabinet meetings has long been contested precisely because of the neutrality question. By custom, the heads of investigative and prosecuting agencies did not attend. That changed after Lee last year instructed the heads of agencies under government ministries to take part. Since early this year, officials including Koo Ja-hyun, then acting prosecutor general, and Yoo Jae-sung, acting commissioner general of the National Police Agency, have sat in on the meetings.
At a Cabinet meeting in June, Lee told Koo that prosecutors, too, should apologize and withdraw charges when they get things wrong. He did not name a specific case, but opposition lawmakers accused him of effectively pressuring prosecutors to drop an indictment. The attendance of the acting heads of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, the Public Prosecution Agency and the National Police Agency at a Cabinet meeting on the 6th of this month also drew criticism, but Lee said it was a matter of course under the Constitution and the Government Organization Act.
Legal experts have also seized on Kim's reference to reviewing the relevant laws. Since no current statute bars the head of an investigative agency from attending Cabinet meetings, they say, the issue is not legal permissibility but securing political neutrality.
Politically sensitive cases are meanwhile arriving at the agency in quick succession. Among them are a complaint against Lee over a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, allegations that the daughter of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon padded her credentials, allegations of accounting irregularities involving Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won, and allegations that Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de falsely reported official expenses. If the head of an agency investigating allegations against the president and lawmakers attends Cabinet meetings, critics warn, disputes over investigative independence are likely to recur.
Lee Jae-mook, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said investigative independence would inevitably suffer if the heads of agencies responsible for investigations and indictments sat in on Cabinet meetings. "The ministers with jurisdiction already take part in the Cabinet, so any items concerning state affairs can be raised through them," he said.
Kim also laid out his main priorities for running the agency: getting it operating smoothly as early as possible, implementing a system of accountable investigation, and protecting citizens' rights. He instructed Deputy Chief Jeon Jong-min to form a task force dedicated to the agency's early stabilization, and said he would build a system in which investigators take responsibility for outcomes to the end rather than treating indictment itself as the goal.