Ruling Party Grills Agency Chief Nominee Kim Jiyong: "Are You Committed to Prosecution Reform?"

Scrutiny of Kim's statement opposing disciplinary action against Yoon Suk Yeol and shift on separating investigative powers
Kim: "I want to complete prosecution reform... I will uphold neutrality"

The ruling and opposition parties questioned Kim Jiyong, nominee for chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, on Oct. 14 about his record during his years at the prosecution service, his views on prosecution reform, and his political neutrality as agency chief. In particular, lawmakers from the ruling bloc pressed him on whether he had the conviction and consistency to realize the goals of prosecution reform as the agency's inaugural chief.

Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea brought up Kim's participation in a collective statement by senior prosecutors in 2020 opposing the suspension of duties and disciplinary action sought against Yoon Seok-yeol, then prosecutor general. Kim asked, "You took part in a statement opposing the measures and engaged in collective action. Why, then, do you disallow the recent actions of Lim Eun-jung, chief of the Gwangju Regional Serious Crime Investigation Agency?"

Kim Jiyong, nominee for chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, answers lawmakers' questions during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on Oct. 14, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

When Kim replied, "I never said that our actions at the time constituted collective action," Kim retorted, "If the 17 senior prosecutors who put their names to the statement did not engage in collective action, what would you call it? Prosecution reform was implemented to put an end to this kind of history."

Kim replied, "I did not discuss my views with the other senior prosecutors beforehand. Whether it constituted collective action should be determined by examining the statement's purpose and means."

Kim said, "You can't claim that what you do is romance but what others do is an affair," and demanded a clear position and measures to prevent political collective action within the agency. Kim said, "I will be vigilant to ensure that no politically motivated collective action occurs."

Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea noted that Kim's participation in the statement opposing Yoon's disciplinary action had been criticized on the grounds that "the procedural flaws cited by the nominee do not align with the court's subsequent ruling." Kim explained, "I was not criticizing the disciplinary action itself, but the procedural issues with the order to suspend Yoon's duties that was issued alongside it." Asked by Yang why he had applied to become agency chief, Kim said, "I want to complete prosecution reform."

The People Power Party also scrutinized Kim's past actions and changes in his position. Kwon Young-jin asked when Kim had come to regard former President Yoon as a political prosecutor, then asked, "If you could go back to that time, would you still have signed the statement?"

Kwon also criticized Kim for saying his own participation in the statement did not constitute collective action under the Public Officials Act, while evading a response about other senior prosecutors' collective statement over the decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case. "Your words change whenever your position changes," Kwon said.

Kwon also pointed out that Kim had previously raised concerns about legislation to separate investigations from prosecutions, asking, "Did you change your position to become chief of the agency?" Kim replied, "I agree with separating investigations from prosecutions," adding that his concern at the time had been about abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.