Seong Ki-hong says 'wasteful controversy' must end; calls nominee 'flawless'

Kang Hoon-sik's fate: 'President is deliberating on an important decision'

Presidential Communications Secretary Seong Ki-hong briefs reporters at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Presidential Communications Secretary Seong Ki-hong briefs reporters at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. [Yonhap]

Presidential Communications Secretary Seong Ki-hong doubled down Friday, insisting that claims labeling Kim Ji-yong — nominee to head the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency — a "pro-Yoon prosecutor" are "entirely without basis."

Speaking on SBS Radio's "Kim Taehyeon's Politics Show" Friday morning, Seong was responding to a suggestion that hardliners within the ruling camp still oppose President Lee Jae Myung's decision to nominate Kim. "People can offer political criticism or commentary on any issue, and they can express their views," he said, "but that must fundamentally be grounded in fact" — before reiterating that the characterization is false.

President Lee had approved Kim's nomination for a National Assembly confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Seong said Kim was in fact elevated to prosecutor general by Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae during her tenure as justice minister, and that Kim had ordered a reinvestigation of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's mother-in-law — a case that had previously been dropped without charges. "It was precisely because of that," Seong said, "that he was demoted and pushed out when the Yoon administration came to power."

Seong also noted that the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is set to launch Friday without a director in place. "We need to quickly put an end to this wasteful controversy and build the framework for the new criminal justice system as fast as possible," he said, adding that the administration was asking the National Assembly to proceed with confirmation hearings for a nominee it considers beyond reproach.

On the question of Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, who has been in a state of tendered resignation for more than 10 days, Seong said the public should understand that "the decision on whether to replace the chief of staff is one of the most genuinely important calls to make, and the president is likely deliberating and weighing it carefully."

Regarding the appointment of Ha Jun-kyung as the new policy chief, Seong said Ha was the right person to serve as the second-term policy director — one who would maintain the overall economic direction while channeling macroeconomic growth down to ordinary people through three core social policy priorities: housing, employment and financial support for low-income households.


sunpine@heraldcorp.com