Kim Min-jae says appointing director is key to successful launch of new agency
The preparation team for the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Serious Crime Investigation Office pushed back Thursday against calls from hardline pro-opposition figures for inaugural SCIO director nominee Kim Ji-yong to step aside, saying he "was not the final decision-maker" in cases that critics have cited from his time as a prosecutor.
Kim Min-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of Interior and Safety and head of the SCIO preparation team, held a briefing at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu on Thursday morning, reading from a prepared statement. "We take the public's voice seriously, as various questions and concerns have been raised about the nominee's past conduct and his stance on prosecutorial reform," Kim said.
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Yong-min, Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jeong and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, among other hardline opposition-aligned figures, have argued that Kim Ji-yong is unfit to lead the new agency. They have pointed to his opposition to separating investigative and indictment powers as part of prosecutorial reform, as well as his position in the chain of command during two high-profile cases: the illegal travel ban imposed on former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui and the misconduct assault case involving former prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung.
The Kim Hak-eui case centers on allegations that officials illegally blocked the former vice minister from leaving the country at Incheon International Airport in 2019. Prosecutors indicted then-Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau chief Cha Gyu-geun, prosecutor Lee Gyu-won and Cheong Wa Dae civil affairs secretary Lee Gwang-cheol, among others — all of whom were ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court.
"There are concerns that the nominee approved the indictment of those involved in the emergency travel ban on the former vice minister," Kim Min-jae said Thursday. "However, three of the four indicted individuals were already under investigation and had been indicted before the nominee took up his post as head of the criminal division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."
"While it is difficult to disclose the specifics of the internal decision-making process, we have confirmed that the nominee voiced his opposition to the indictment of the remaining individual in an internal meeting and was not the final decision-maker," he added.
Kim Min-jae said the nominee was also not the final decision-maker in the Jeong Jin-ung misconduct assault case. "It is true that the nominee was in the chain of command as deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office," he said. "However, the investigation was already under way when he took up the post, he clearly expressed his opposition to the indictment in an advisory capacity, and he was not the final decision-maker."
The Jeong Jin-ung case stems from the so-called Channel A affair, in which Jeong was charged with assaulting and injuring then-Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon during a search and seizure operation. Jeong was convicted at trial but acquitted on appeal, and the Supreme Court confirmed his acquittal in 2022.
Kim Ji-yong previously joined a statement opposing the suspension and disciplinary proceedings against then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol, and also publicly opposed legislation that would have stripped prosecutors of their investigative powers — a measure critics dubbed "complete deprivation of prosecutorial investigative rights." Hardline opposition figures have since labeled him a "pro-Yoon prosecutor" or a "prosecutorialist."
Kim Min-jae said the nominee joined the statement because he believed the disciplinary process itself was partly improper, even if Yoon's conduct may have warranted discipline, and that his opposition to the investigative-powers legislation was not a rejection of the principle of separating investigation from indictment, but rather a concern that victims' rights could be left unprotected without adequate safeguards in place.
Kim Min-jae also said the nominee had in fact ordered a reinvestigation into a complaint involving relatives of former President Yoon, having found the original decision not to indict to be unjustified. Yoon's mother-in-law, identified only by her surname Choi, was accused of perjury by a former business partner surnamed Jeong. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office declined to indict, but the Supreme Prosecutors' Office ordered a reinvestigation in 2021. The district office again declined to indict, and Jeong's subsequent application for a court-ordered prosecution was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court.
Asked why the preparation team held a second briefing even after Kim Ji-yong had personally addressed the allegations through a doorstep statement on Monday, Kim Min-jae said it was "for a successful launch." He noted that ministers preparing for confirmation hearings typically have established support structures in place, but that the SCIO does not, as it is set to open Oct. 2. He said he views the director's appointment as "a critical matter for the launch."
Shin Jun-ho, head of the confirmation hearing preparation team, said the nominee had taken the position that the Jeong Jin-ung case could not proceed as a misconduct assault charge because he sided with the investigating prosecutors, while in the Kim Hak-eui case he disagreed with the investigative team and believed the travel ban had been handled properly. "It is true that the nominee was involved as part of the chain of command, but we are deeply troubled by the allegations framing him as having led these cases," Shin said.
bell@heraldcorp.com
