Kim, a former judge, is a leading voice for aggressive prosecution reform within the ruling party

He played a central role in pushing through revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act

His past leadership of a group calling for dropping charges against President Lee draws scrutiny

Opposition parties have criticized the nomination as politically motivated

Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice. [Kim Seung-won's Democratic Party of Korea office]
Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice. [Kim Seung-won's Democratic Party of Korea office]

President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Kim Seung-won, a former judge and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker widely regarded as one of the ruling camp's most hard-line prosecution reform advocates, as minister of justice. The pick effectively moves Kim from architect of reform to its executor. With the abolition of the Prosecution Service scheduled for October and a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system imminent, legal circles expect Kim's appointment to accelerate the follow-up work. Attention is also focused on whether Kim — who has led a group demanding that criminal charges against President Lee be dropped — will move to make that happen once in office.

According to legal sources Monday, Kim plans to set up a transition office in the coming days before formally beginning confirmation hearing preparations. Offices for incoming justice minister nominees have typically been established near Jeokseondong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, or at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu. Kim is expected to consult with party leadership before deciding whether to retain his roles as the ruling party's floor manager and subcommittee chair on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Kim, a close ally of President Lee within the Democratic Party, was nominated Sunday. He served on the party's Criminal Procedure Act task force and played a leading role in drafting and passing through the Assembly an amendment that would strip prosecutors of their supplementary investigative powers and eliminate investigative authority altogether.

Legal observers widely expect Kim, if confirmed, to push prosecution reform into high gear. Many analysts believe that prospect was central to his selection. The abolition of the Prosecution Service in October is set to be accompanied by the creation of a new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and a separate Public Prosecution Office, but while the legislation has passed, the operational details of the new system remain unsettled. As the minister overseeing the transition, Kim's views will carry decisive weight. After his nomination, Kim said through the Ministry of Justice that South Korea "stands on the verge of the greatest transformation of its criminal justice system in 70 years," adding that he would "do his utmost to ensure the new system takes root as one that earns the public's trust," drawing on his experience to date.

Opposition parties have been particularly vocal in criticizing the nomination, pointing out that Kim led a group advocating for the withdrawal of criminal charges in cases involving President Lee and calling the appointment a move designed ultimately to make that happen. The issue is expected to dominate his confirmation hearing.

Kim serves as co-chair, alongside fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Yun Geon-yeong, of the Assembly Members' Group for Pursuing the Withdrawal of Charges Against President Lee Jae Myung and a Parliamentary Investigation. Since the group's launch in February, the Democratic Party has pursued a special parliamentary investigation into allegations of fabricated indictments by politically motivated prosecutors, and a so-called "fabricated indictment special prosecutor act" has also been introduced.

The fact that the central figure behind the charge-withdrawal group has now been nominated to lead the ministry that oversees prosecutors has raised the prospect that what was once political rhetoric could become reality. While the justice minister cannot directly order the withdrawal of charges, the minister is legally empowered to direct and supervise the prosecutor general.

In this regard, attention is turning to the future role of the Prosecution Human Rights and Future Committee — a body launched under former Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho — which was established in June at Jeong's direction to investigate alleged abuses of prosecutorial power. Operating with support from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the committee has assembled a fact-finding team currently probing 19 cases, including cases involving President Lee such as the Ssangbangul inter-Korean funds transfer case. Within the prosecution, there are concerns that Kim's nomination will expand the committee's role and intensify pressure to drop charges.

Seoul High Prosecutors' Office prosecutor Gong Bong-suk wrote on her SNS account Sunday: "If Rep. Kim, co-chair of the charge-withdrawal group, becomes justice minister, will he order the withdrawal of charges? Did Cheong Wa Dae nominate Rep. Kim as justice minister in order to have the charges dropped? Is the president so impatient that he is willing to invite exactly these kinds of questions?"

<Profile> Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice

Born in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province; bachelor of laws (public law), Seoul National University; judge, Jeonju District Court; judge, Suwon District Court; chair, Human Rights Committee, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency; administrative official, Presidential Office of Political Affairs; National Assembly member, 21st and 22nd terms; chair, Legal Affairs Committee, Democratic Party of Korea; floor manager, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee; chair, Democratic Party of Korea Gyeonggi Province chapter.


bell@heraldcorp.com