Kim Ji-yong, the first chief of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, attended a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung just one day after receiving his letter of appointment.
Kim sat in on the 45th Cabinet meeting presided over by Lee on the 20th. Asked by the president to offer remarks, Kim said he would "successfully establish the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, complete prosecution reform and do my utmost to protect the rights and interests of the people."
A day earlier, at his first doorstepping session since taking office, Kim had been noncommittal about whether he would attend Cabinet meetings, saying he would "review the relevant laws and consult with related agencies to make an appropriate decision." Some observers noted that while he had pledged to end the politicization of investigations, he had not drawn a clear line against attending Cabinet meetings, where the president and the head of an investigative agency meet face to face.
Legal circles also took note of Kim's reference to reviewing the relevant laws. Current law contains no provision barring the head of an investigative agency from attending Cabinet meetings, they said, making political neutrality rather than legal permissibility the central question.
Meanwhile, Lee told Kim, attending his first Cabinet meeting, that prosecution reform had been "institutionally completed," with investigation and indictment fully separated and the Public Prosecution Agency and the Major Crimes Investigation Agency placed under different ministries.