President Lee Jae-myung on the 20th instructed Kim Ji-yong, the newly appointed head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, to "crack down on serious crime without picking sides and without any sanctuary," as Kim attended his first Cabinet meeting. The agency filled its top post about two weeks after launching, and the president's remarks amounted to a demand that it prove its own reason for existing while concerns persist over a gap in crime response. In the legal community, however, controversy is growing that regular Cabinet attendance by the head of an investigative body could undermine the independence of investigations.
At the 45th Cabinet meeting, which he presided over at the Blue House that day, Lee repeatedly stressed to Kim a policy of strict investigation into serious crime. "Since the agency has made a fresh start as an independent investigative body, it appears to need new resolve and commitment," Lee said. "Please carry out swiftly and strictly the weighty task of resolving the public's concerns and anxieties about prosecution reform and fairly maintaining a minimum of social order."
He specifically defined white-collar crime, power-linked corruption and securities and financial crime as "serious crimes that destroy people's lives and disrupt social order." Lee asked that the agency "prove to the public its reason for existing and its necessity by mobilizing all investigative capacity to punish these crimes." Kim responded that he would "successfully establish the agency, complete prosecution reform and do his utmost to protect the rights and interests of the public."
Since the agency's launch, Lee appears mindful of public concern and has made remarks emphasizing the independence and neutrality of its investigations on consecutive days. At a tea meeting following the appointment ceremony the previous day, Lee also said the agency "must handle matters that raise public doubts in accordance with principle" and "must have its reason for existing recognized by the public." The agency launched on the 2nd, but the top post sat vacant for two weeks, its staffing stands at only about 60% of its authorized level and investigative equipment remains inadequate, prompting concerns about a gap in investigations. The remarks are read as reflecting a determination to quiet the controversy that has dogged the prosecution reform process by settling the agency quickly.
In the legal community, however, Kim's Cabinet attendance itself is being questioned. With the agency launched under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the minister's authority to direct investigations written into law, adding direct contact with the president could have a chilling effect on investigations involving those in power, critics say. "How would anyone know whether a separate session to receive reports on pending investigations might be created after the Cabinet meeting ends," said a lawyer who formerly served as a chief prosecutor. "When the head of an investigative body reports directly to the president on his work, investigative activity targeting the president or related figures is bound to be chilled."
Critics also say that Kim, who had said he would decide on Cabinet attendance in consultation with relevant agencies, attended the meeting immediately after taking office, contradicting his earlier emphasis on "ending the politicization of investigations." Cha Jin-a, a professor at Korea University Law School, said: "In past administrations, heads of investigative bodies such as the prosecutor general never took part in Cabinet meetings, and having him attend is tantamount to directing investigations. It is questionable whether it is conduct befitting a democratic state for the head of the agency — created amid criticism of the 'political prosecution' — to sit in on Cabinet meetings."
Civil society has also called for restraint on regular attendance. In a commentary on the 15th of this month, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy urged that "to guarantee the political neutrality of investigative and prosecutorial bodies and avoid undermining fairness, the practice of having heads of related agencies regularly attend Cabinet meetings should be refrained from." When the dispute over the agency chief's Cabinet attendance first arose, Lee said he found such arguments "difficult to agree with" and stated that he would not intervene in the handling of individual cases.
Separately, at the Cabinet meeting that day, Lee told the police that "no matter how much their authority grows, without the public's trust it is nothing but a house built on sand," adding that "a sweeping overhaul of the existing public safety system is also needed for safer daily life for the public." In the closed-door session, he called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to shift the government's public relations approach, centering on three improvements: communication attuned to the times, selection and concentration of government achievements, and broad improvement of state public relations. The meeting approved a full revision of the regulation on the composition and operation of the National Tourism Strategy Council, elevating the council from under the prime minister to under the president.