'Prosecution reform is not for building any individual's political legacy,' president says amid ruling camp dispute over new investigative agency chief nominee

President Lee Jae Myung. [Newsis]
President Lee Jae Myung. [Newsis]

President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that no one should use prosecution reform as a pretext to pursue personal interests or to exert control over personnel decisions and the specifics of investigations and indictments.

"In all public duties, including state affairs, the most important thing is to distinguish between public and private interests and to set aside personal motives," Lee wrote in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account Monday.

"Prosecution reform is being carried out for the people — not to build the political legacy of certain individuals," Lee said. He added that it was "even more wrong" to dismiss others' contributions as useless or even as obstacles in order to claim sole credit for achievements made through collective effort.

The remarks appeared aimed at hard-liners within the ruling camp who have opposed the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as head of the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.

Along with the post, Lee shared a video of Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho pushing back against criticism within the party that the government had dragged its feet on reform. Woo previously served as senior presidential secretary for political affairs last year, handling coordination with the Democratic Party of Korea on prosecution reform.

Lee also said that "the government did not stall — in line with the agreement between the ruling party and the administration, it achieved the complete separation of investigation and indictment more swiftly and thoroughly than any previous government, and went even further than what many had originally envisioned by separating the supervising ministries as well."

"The task of prosecution reform has been institutionally completed through legislation," Lee said. "What remains is ensuring that the investigative functions of the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the prosecutorial functions of the Ministry of Justice's Public Prosecution Service operate effectively."

Lee also drew attention with a post Sunday in which he wrote that "the agitation of irresponsible extremists — those who spread falsehoods or stir up the public without even a minimum basis in fact, the so-called 'mugeukpa' — is spreading like a trend." Lee did not explain what he meant by the term, but some observers interpreted it as a reference to the backlash from hard-line supporters within the ruling camp over the nomination of Kim.


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