President Lee on Controversy Over Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Chief's Cabinet Attendance: "Correcting Abnormal Practices"

"The Prosecution Office and Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Are Also Led by Chiefs Under the President's Direction... No Special Treatment"
"Opposition to Their Attendance Is Unconstitutional Sophistry"... On Concerns Over Inves

President Lee Jaemyung said on Oct. 21, regarding controversy over the political neutrality of Kim Jiyong, chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, attending a Cabinet meeting, that "correcting the mistaken perception and practice of treating investigative agencies with authority as a special case is also part of normalizing what is abnormal." He directly rebutted claims opposing the attendance of the chiefs of the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency at Cabinet meetings, stressing that they head agencies under the executive branch and are subject to the president's direction and supervision. However, seemingly mindful of concerns that the independence of investigative agencies could be undermined, he drew a clear line, saying he would not direct investigations into specific cases.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a meeting on housing supply at the Incheon Gyeyang Public Housing District on Oct. 20, 2026. Yonhap News Agency

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) that morning, Lee said, "The heads of all agencies, including the Korea Forest Service, the National Fire Agency and the Korea Coast Guard, attend and take part in discussions," adding, "The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service are simply agencies headed by chiefs who, like other agency heads, are subject to the direction of the president, prime minister and ministers." He continued, "Just as I do not give ministers specific instructions on permits and approvals, I will not direct investigations into specific cases, so there is no need to worry."

Earlier, in a post titled "I Asked Gemini," Lee also shared a response from the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Gemini to emphasize the legal grounds for the agency chiefs' attendance at Cabinet meetings. The response stated, "The argument that the chiefs of the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency cannot attend Cabinet meetings, in denial of Article 11 of the Government Organization Act, is an unconstitutional sophistry," and "The claim that the chiefs of the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency should be excluded from Cabinet meetings is sophistry that flatly denies the president's authority to supervise the administration and the structure for governing the government, as provided for by the Constitution and the Government Organization Act."

In particular, he highlighted that Article 66, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the Government Organization Act authorize the president to direct and supervise the heads of all central administrative agencies. The argument is that excluding from Cabinet meetings agency heads who are subject to the president's direction and supervision runs counter to the principle of integrated governance by the executive branch.

The controversy resurfaced when Kim, the first chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, attended a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Oct. 20 for the first time. At the meeting, Lee asked Kim to demonstrate to the public the agency's purpose and necessity by firmly prosecuting serious crimes regardless of political affiliation. Kim, who attended the meeting, said, "I will do my utmost to successfully establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, complete prosecution reform and protect the public's rights and interests."

Since December 2025, Lee has directed the heads of external agencies under government ministries to attend Cabinet meetings as well. At the Cabinet meeting on Oct. 13, he said he found it difficult to agree with criticism over the attendance of the heads of investigative and prosecution agencies, and stressed the need to share the general direction and policies of government administration.

However, some opposition politicians and members of the legal community have raised concerns that the political neutrality and independence of investigative agencies could be undermined. They point out that the regular attendance of investigative agency chiefs at meetings chaired by the president could itself become a source of political pressure, since the president, cabinet members and senior Blue House officials could also be potential subjects of investigations. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy has also said that agency chiefs should refrain from regularly attending Cabinet meetings to maintain public trust in the fairness of investigative and prosecution agencies.

Meanwhile, Lee also reaffirmed his commitment to expanding communication with the media. Sharing an editorial titled "Continue Livestreaming SNS and Cabinet Meetings... Meet Reporters More Often to Strike a Balance," he said, "The public and the front lines are like the water in which fish swim. This is a good point, and I fully agree," adding, "I will increase livestreams of government affairs, media engagement, visits to the field and SNS activity."

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