Kim Young-jin, a Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee and is close to President Lee Jae-myung, said on the 15th that Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, has "enough capability to take on the job as the agency's first commissioner." The committee, which held a confirmation hearing for the nominee, planned to convene a plenary session at 10 a.m. to discuss adopting his confirmation report.
Speaking on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show," the lawmaker said, "As chair of the confirmation committee, I concluded that the nominee does not appear to have acted or made judgments aimed at currying political favor by siding with allies of former President Yoon Suk-yeol." He added, "I do not know the nominee at all, but I think yesterday confirmed that attacking him and labeling him a pro-Yoon prosecutor was simply not true."
The lawmaker said he could not conclude that the nominee has "outstanding ability to prevent the politicization of the newly launched agency and to establish it as a fair and neutral body," but defended him as having "enough conviction, qualifications and resolve to lead the agency."
At the hearing held the previous day, ruling party lawmakers themselves attacked the government's pick, as hardliners within the party opposed appointing a former prosecutor to lead the agency. The hardliners argue that the nominee is a pro-Yoon prosecutor, citing his past record within the prosecution service.
In response, the lawmaker said the nominee "was a prosecutor who mainly handled criminal case investigations for 25 years and was not part of the "special investigations line" — the elite group of prosecutors specializing in high-profile corruption probes from which Yoon drew his closest allies" — a term for the group of prosecutors who led high-profile probes under Yoon, who previously served as prosecutor general. "There was nothing at all that overlapped with the former prosecutor general or the pro-Yoon circle," he said.
The lawmaker was more cautious about the party hardliners who went on the offensive against the nominee, saying it was "difficult to criticize the thinking and judgment of individual lawmakers." He said the committee would "adopt the confirmation report including those dissenting views" from within the ruling party. On the report's adoption, he said the floor liaisons of the ruling and opposition parties had "agreed to adopt it including both the favorable and unfavorable opinions."
Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju branch of the investigation agency, who have voiced opposition to the appointment from outside the National Assembly, had demanded before the hearing that they be called as witnesses. The lawmaker called that "a truly awkward request," adding that "the head of the Gwangju branch and the Gyeonggi governor need to do their own jobs properly." He said the issues the two raised "involved far too many partial points. Their judgments from their own positions were too strong to get close to the truth of the cases," adding, "I think there were many shortcomings in judging the nominee based on the overall truth of the cases."
Separately, on the appointment of Lim Kwang-hyun as presidential chief of staff announced the previous day, the lawmaker said he "had no idea at all" and found it "refreshing." He said, "The person who can resolve issues with the greatest weight is the president, so the president will do that work, and I think the chief of staff is well suited to producing results through a supporting role in practical affairs and policy outcomes." He added that Lim "has the capability to focus on supporting the president and producing results through that, rather than pursuing his own interests through particular political gains or factions."
On the surprise selection, the lawmaker said Lim "showed wisdom, courage, decisiveness and boldness in resolving difficult problems, such as recovering 400 billion won in unpaid taxes from the so-called shipping king." He added, "In those respects, I think the president saw great value in him for the role of chief of staff supporting state affairs."