Appointment of Serious Crime Investigation Agency Chief Stalls One Week Before Launch—Could It Also Affect Broader Ruling-Bloc Integration?

[Financial News] The launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency is just a week away, but the appointment of its inaugural chief has yet to be finalized. The Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) is demanding the withdrawal of Kim Ji-yong’s nomination, citing his prosecutorial background and past actions. Meanwhile, members of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, the mainstream group within the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), argue that the president’s appointment authority should be respected. Political circles expect the appointment’s outcome to affect future cooperation and integration between the two parties.
According to political sources on the 25th, the schedule for Kim’s National Assembly confirmation hearing has yet to be finalized. As the agency’s launch approaches, concerns are mounting that it could open without its inaugural chief. The situation is particularly burdensome because vacancies remain at the top of major investigative bodies, including the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Korean National Police Agency, amid concerns about an investigative vacuum following the abolition of prosecutors’ investigative powers and controversy over inadequate police investigations.
The delay is rooted in opposition to Kim from the RKP and other hardliners within the broader ruling bloc who advocate prosecution reform. They argue that Kim is not qualified to become the agency’s inaugural chief. In addition to his background as a prosecutor, they are taking issue with his public opposition in 2022 to legislation curbing prosecutors’ investigative powers.
The RKP has consequently called on Kim to resign voluntarily. At a news conference in the National Assembly on the 15th, the party said, "Kim is not qualified to become the inaugural chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. Resign," and asked, "How could any citizen accept someone who stood on the exact opposite side of the history of prosecution reform becoming the chief of the agency, which is a symbol of prosecution reform?"
The party continued by accusing Kim of being "someone who sided with former President Yoon Suk Yeol and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon at every turning point in prosecution reform," adding, "How can he become the inaugural chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the People’s Sovereignty government that took office after overcoming Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection?"
Shin Jang-sik, leader of the RKP, referred to Kim’s appointment and other issues in a speech to leaders of non-negotiating groups in the National Assembly on the 9th. He warned that if prosecution reform were to retreat, "we would have no choice but to seriously reconsider our relationship with the DPK." This indicates that the RKP views the appointment not only in terms of the individual nominee’s qualifications but also in connection with the two parties’ broader reform agendas.
The mainstream pro-Lee faction within the DPK takes a different view. DPK leader Kim Min-seok appeared on the party’s official YouTube channel, Democratic Party TV, on the 22nd and said that the ruling party should respect the president’s final decision as the holder of appointment authority. His position was that the party could express its views on the appointment but should not challenge the president’s final judgment.
A DPK official considered part of the pro-Lee faction said, "The structural framework of prosecution reform—the separation of investigation and prosecution—has already been established by law," adding, "The concern that a single head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency could reverse the structural framework of prosecution reform is unfounded."
The differing positions over Kim could also affect future discussions on cooperation and integration between the DPK and the RKP. Since Shin has directly linked the appointment issue to the RKP’s relationship with the DPK, Kim’s appointment could once again highlight differences between the two parties’ reform agendas. Conversely, if the nomination is withdrawn, DPK leaders could object that the president’s appointment authority had been undermined. This is why the broader ruling bloc is closely watching the appointment decision ahead of the agency’s launch.
[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter