Choo Mi-ae, the Gyeonggi Province Governor, reiterated her opposition to the appointment of Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, citing three grounds for his unfitness.
Governor Choo stated on the night of the 7th in a Facebook post titled “Grounds for the Unfitness of the SCIA Chief Nominee” that she “demands a proper verification of Kim.”
Regarding Kim, Choo said, “As deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, he was a pro-Yoon Suk-yeol and pro-han (prosecution) prosecutor who engaged in an illegal collective action opposing the disciplinary action against former President Yoon Suk-yeol. As head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Division, he publicly opposed prosecution reforms through a press conference, demonstrating his stance as a prosecution supremacist.” She added, “There are suspicions that, during his tenure as deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, he approved the indictment by stamping the prosecution records that unjustly charged Prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong, who investigated Han Dong-hoon in the Channel A case.”
Choo mentioned that during the disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol in 2020, senior prosecutors, including Kim, who was then deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, collectively signed a petition opposing the disciplinary measure. She noted, “All of them were promoted to senior prosecutor positions under the Moon Jae-in administration, where Yoon Suk-yeol had control over the prosecution. The fact that they were promoted to senior prosecutors under the Moon Jae-in administration during Minister Choo Mi-ae’s tenure has no relation to being pro-Yoon prosecutors.”
Choo also pointed out that when Kim was head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Criminal Division, he voluntarily held a press conference with senior prosecutors to publicly criticize and oppose the Moon Jae-in administration’s prosecution reforms. She asked, “Now, he has changed his stance to express agreement with prosecution reforms for his career advancement. What is the difference between him and former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol, who deceived the public by claiming to pursue prosecution reforms and then staged a prosecution coup?”
Choo reiterated, “There are suspicions that Kim, as deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, approved the indictment by stamping the prosecution records that unjustly charged Prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong, who investigated Han Dong-hoon, the suspect in the Channel A prosecutors-media collusion case. This wrongful approval ultimately obscured the essence of the Channel A case.”
She concluded, “The people are watching. Let’s conduct the verification properly.”
President Lee Jae Myung, on the 5th, targeted hardliners within the ruling party who oppose Kim’s nomination on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “They should not misuse prosecution reforms to manipulate personnel decisions and specific investigations or prosecutions out of personal interest.” He has consistently posted similar messages.
Kim Min-seok, the Democratic Party leader, has also issued warnings aimed at hardliners within the ruling party. On the 8th, in a party’s official YouTube video, he said, “Lawmakers and public officials in the ruling party need to exercise appropriate restraint.”
On the 6th, Kim also stated, “At a time when we should focus on livelihood reforms, excessive demands or arguments could undermine the entire reform effort, the unity of the reform camp, the front lines, and even the president’s leadership, as seen in the past. It is time for the party to control such tendencies.”
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