Power Oversight Resumes After 10-Year Hiatus... President Lee Jaemyung Moves to Appoint Special Inspector General

National Assembly to Adopt Confirmation Hearing Report on Oct. 22
Choi Gilsu's Appointment Imminent
Political Interests Stalled the Process Under Moon and Yoon
Lee: "Need to Prevent Misconduct in Advance"; Vows to Appoint
Oversight of

The Special Inspector General, a post that had remained vacant for nearly 10 years, is on the verge of being revived. With the National Assembly set to adopt a report on the confirmation hearing for nominee Choi Gilsu on Oct. 22, President Lee Jaemyung's appointment process has effectively entered its final stage. The move would restore an oversight system around the president that became largely ineffectual under the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations, but challenges remain in ensuring its independence from political power and its effectiveness.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on Oct. 20, 2026. Yonhap News

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a plenary meeting during the parliamentary audit of the Public Prosecution Office on Oct. 22 and adopt the report on Choi's confirmation hearing. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to include both favorable and unfavorable opinions in the report. The adoption comes just over a month after the confirmation hearing was held on Sept. 18. Once the report is adopted, President Lee can formally appoint Choi. At a press conference held at the Blue House's Chunchugwan press center on Oct. 19, President Lee expressed a strong commitment to appointing a Special Inspector General. "I've repeatedly asked them to appoint one quickly, but I hear the opposition is against it," he said. "I believe the position is necessary to prevent problems in advance if issues arise among those around me."

The Special Inspector General is an independent oversight body that investigates misconduct by the president's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree, and senior presidential aides at the level of senior secretary or above. The position was first established under the Park Geun-hye administration in March 2015, following the enactment of the relevant law in 2014. However, no successor was appointed after Lee Seok-su, the first Special Inspector General, resigned in September 2016 while investigating allegations of misconduct by Woo Byung-woo, then senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.

The prolonged vacancy was driven by political interests that repeatedly surfaced regardless of which administration was in power. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the ruling party prioritized establishing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), while the opposition called for an appointment, arguing that the CIO and the Special Inspector General had different roles. Under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the ruling People Power Party clashed with the Democratic Party after linking its recommendation of a Special Inspector General to its recommendation of a director for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation. The institution, intended to monitor those at the heart of the administration, was tied up in political bargaining between the ruling and opposition parties and was unable to perform its intended role.

The process has not been smooth since the Lee administration took office, either. President Lee directed officials to pursue an appointment in July 2025 and asked the National Assembly to begin the candidate recommendation process in April 2026. After the Assembly recommended three candidates on Aug. 20, 2026, President Lee nominated Choi, a lawyer recommended by the Democratic Party, four days later. Choi had also been recommended by the then-opposition Bareunmirae Party under the Moon administration.

However, adoption of the report was delayed even after the confirmation hearing because of differences between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party criticized the opposition for failing to cooperate, while the People Power Party took issue with what it called the ruling party's lackadaisical handling of the matter. The appointment process is now set to clear its final hurdle, six months after the president asked the National Assembly to proceed with it.

Reviving the Special Inspector General is significant not only because it would enable investigations into misconduct by the president's relatives and close associates after the fact, but also because it would restore a mechanism for preventing such misconduct in advance. In nominating Choi, the Blue House emphasized the principle that "all power must be subject to institutional oversight." Attention is focused on whether Choi, who has worked in both special investigations and inspection at the prosecution service, can carry out investigations without exceptions.

However, the ruling and opposition parties continue to disagree over the scope of the investigations. The People Power Party is calling for an investigation into Kim Hyun-ji, the Blue House's first deputy chief of staff, while some in the Democratic Party argue that alleged interference in personnel appointments under the Yoon administration should also be examined. Under current law, there are legal restrictions on directly investigating aides below the senior secretary level or officials from previous administrations.

A ruling-party official said, "The revival of the Special Inspector General is expected to mark the starting point for normalizing the system of oversight over political power." The official added, "Whether the Special Inspector General remains another target of political disputes or takes root as a practical check on abuses of power will be a test of the Lee administration's commitment to oversight."

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