President Lee Jaemyung Set to Appoint Special Inspector, Reviving 'Power Oversight' After 10-Year Hiatus

National Assembly to Adopt Confirmation Hearing Report on Choi Gilsu
Restore Oversight of Those Around the President
Challenges Remain in Ensuring Independence and Effectiveness
Cheong Wa Dae Forcefully Rebuts Reports of "AI-Dependent Governance"

The special inspector, whose post has been vacant for nearly 10 years, is poised to return. With the National Assembly set to adopt a confirmation hearing report on Choi Gil-su, the nominee for special inspector, on Oct. 22, the appointment process by President Lee Jaemyung has effectively entered its final stage. The move is significant as it would restore a system for monitoring those around the president that became largely ineffective under the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations. However, challenges remain in ensuring the inspector's independence from those in power and the effectiveness of the post.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on October 20, 2026. Yonhap News.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to convene a plenary session during an audit of the Prosecution Service on Oct. 22 and adopt the confirmation hearing report on Choi. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to include both favorable and unfavorable assessments. The move comes just over a month after the confirmation hearing was held on Sept. 18. Once the report is adopted, Lee can formally appoint Choi. Lee had expressed a strong commitment to appointing a special inspector during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae's Chunchugwan press center on Oct. 19. Meeting reporters after a government audit strategy meeting, Kim Seong-hoe, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said, "The Legislation and Judiciary Committee is set to adopt the confirmation hearing report on Choi," adding that "the vacancy will be filled after 10 years and one month."

The special inspector is an independent watchdog tasked with investigating misconduct by the president's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree of kinship, and senior Cheong Wa Dae aides at the level of senior secretaries or above. The post was first established in March 2015 under the Park Geun-hye administration, following the enactment of the relevant law in 2014. However, no successor was appointed after Lee Seok-su, the first special inspector, resigned in September 2016 while investigating allegations of misconduct by Woo Byung-woo, then senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.

The prolonged vacancy stemmed from political interests that repeatedly came into play 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, while the opposition argued that the office and the special inspector had different roles and called for an appointment. Under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the ruling People Power Party clashed with the Democratic Party by linking its recommendation of a special inspector to its recommendation of directors for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation. The system, which was meant to monitor those at the heart of the administration, became entangled in political bargaining between the ruling and opposition parties and failed to perform its intended function.

The process did not proceed smoothly even after the Lee Jaemyung administration took office. 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, Lee named Choi, a lawyer recommended by the Democratic Party, four days later. Choi had also been recommended by the opposition Bareunmirae Party during the Moon Jae-in administration.

However, the adoption of the report was delayed even after the confirmation hearing because of disagreements 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 final hurdle is set to be cleared six months after the president asked the National Assembly to proceed with the appointment.

The restoration of the special inspector's office is significant not only because it reinstates post hoc investigations into misconduct by the president's relatives and close associates, but also because it revives a mechanism for prevention. When nominating Choi, Cheong Wa Dae emphasized the principle that "all power must be subject to institutional oversight." Attention is focused on whether Choi, who has worked in both the prosecution's special investigations and inspection fields, will be able to conduct investigations without exception.

However, the ruling and opposition parties continue to disagree over the scope of the inspector's investigations. The People Power Party is calling for an investigation into Kim Hyun-ji, the first deputy director of Cheong Wa Dae's protocol office, while some in the Democratic Party argue that allegations of personnel interference by the Yoon Suk Yeol 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.

Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae responded to the recent controversy over Lee's use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), saying, "The fact that he said he asked Gemini means it is a clear fact that can be confirmed even by asking AI." Meeting reporters at Chunchugwan on Oct. 22, Seong Gi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communications, said, "Does it conform to the facts to report that the president asked generative AI and cited its answer as the basis for governing?" He also called reports that the president was concerned about the possibility of directing an investigation "highly regrettable and distorted," adding, "He will not interfere in investigations."

Earlier, Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "I asked Gemini," and added, "The argument that the heads of the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency cannot attend Cabinet meetings, despite Article 11 of the Government Organization Act, is an unconstitutional stretch." The opposition subsequently issued a barrage of criticism, saying, "The president is asking AI how to govern."

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