[COVER STORY] President spars with liberal allies over investigation body chief nomination

President Lee Jae Myung is clashing with liberal figures over his nomination of former prosecutor Kim Ji-yong as the inaugural chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. The agency was created through prosecutorial reform to investigate serious crimes, while the Public Prosecution Service handles indictments and prosecutions. Critics question Kim’s past defense of prosecutorial powers and alleged ties to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, while Lee defends his investigative experience. The dispute has expanded into disagreements over reform motives and methods.

The SCIA and Public Prosecution Service were established by dividing the former prosecution service’s investigative and prosecutorial functions.

Lee nominated Kim Ji-yong on Sept. 8, and the presidential office later said an additional review found no problem with the selection.

Choo Mi-ae said Kim participated in prosecutors’ collective actions opposing disciplinary measures against Yoon Suk Yeol when Yoon was prosecutor general.

Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung ordered an inspection of SCIA Gwangju branch chief Lim Eun-jung over possible political activity after she alleged Kim had ignored requests to investigate sexual assault allegations involving another prosecutor.

DPK Chairman Kim Min-seok urged party members to resolve their disagreements through internal consultation.

Published Oct 12, 2026 4:54 pm KST

Updated Oct 12, 2026 5:34 pm KST

Dispute over nominee to lead new probe body exposes widening rift within liberal bloc

President Lee Jae Myung attends a gathering with representatives of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, known as Mindan, and ethnic Koreans living in Japan to mark the organization’s 80th anniversary at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

It is normal for a president to clash with members of opposition parties, especially those with different political inclinations, over reform measures.

President Lee Jae Myung, however, is having an unusual conflict — one against members of his own party and other liberal figures. The conflict is over the nomination of Kim Ji-yong, a former prosecutor, to be the inaugural chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA).

The new investigative body was established as part of prosecutorial reform, dividing the prosecutors’ office into SCIA in charge of probing serious crimes and the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) tasked with indicting suspects and prosecuting cases.

The nomination on Sept. 8, however, turned the long-awaited prosecution reform into the focus of an increasingly bitter internal conflict, as hardliners from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) and elsewhere in the liberal bloc argue that his record of defending prosecutorial powers makes him unfit to serve as its inaugural chief.

They also label Kim a loyalist of ousted prosecutor-turned-former President Yoon Suk Yeol, Lee’s predecessor.

From left are Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae, Rep. Kim Yong-min of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Lim Eun-jung, chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency’s (SCIA) Gwangju branch. Yonhap

The hardliners include Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Kim Yong-min, who are members of the DPK, as well as RKP Rep. Park Eun-jung and SCIA's Gwangju branch chief Lim Eun-jung, a former prosecutor who has openly supported the liberal bloc for years.

Despite their objections, the president says Kim’s investigative experience makes him well suited to establish the new agency and that a further review of his record found no problems with his selection.

Lee has also stepped up his criticism of the hardliners, accusing them of pursuing personal interests under the banner of reform.

"A reform should be a goal, and should not be a tool to get attention and attack somebody," Lee wrote on social media on Oct. 4.

But the critics stepped up their criticism.

Choo repeatedly said Kim was close to Yoon, saying that when Yoon was the prosecutor general and at odds with then-liberal President Moon Jae-in, Kim took part in prosecutors' collective actions to oppose Moon's disciplinary actions against Yoon.

She said Cheong Wa Dae’s explanation that Kim was uninvolved in collective actions to defend Yoon was a lie, and has portrayed his nomination as a betrayal at a time when reform appeared close to completion.

Lee then made counterattacks against Choo.

On another social media post on Sunday, he criticized "people who enjoy every luxury at ordinary taxpayers’ expense while readily cutting even small welfare budgets for those same people." The remarks were widely interpreted as targeting Choo following a controversy over her provincial government's welfare spending cuts, although he did not name her.

Lim’s opposition presents a different challenge, as she alleged that the nominee, when he was a prosecutor, ignored requests to investigate sexual assault allegations involving another prosecutor.

As she continued criticizing Kim, who would become her boss if he is appointed, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung on Sunday ordered an inspection of Lim, saying the ministry would examine whether Lim had used her position for political activity.

"It seems Lim is misunderstanding SCIA not as an organization to investigate but an organization to do politics," the minister said. "I worry that the past wrong behaviors of prosecutors, who used to intervene in politics, may be repeated at the SCIA."

The dispute has widened to include disagreements over lawmakers’ motives and their track records on reform.

Kim Yong-min, a leading reform advocate in the DPK, argues that the nominee should himself be subject to reform and challenged Lee’s account of his legislative proposals.

Park of the RKP has likewise rejected suggestions of personal ambition.

The RKP lawmaker, who helped investigate former President Yoon while serving as a justice ministry official, argues that Lee is drawing criticism because he has aligned himself with prosecutors she opposed. Park even wrote, "The Lee Jae Myung administration is eventually only a chapter of history."

“The latest clash shows that abolishing the old prosecution service has not settled disagreements over who should lead the new agency or how reform should be carried out,” a law professor said on condition of anonymity.

Against this backdrop, DPK Chairman Kim Min-seok expressed frustration with the arguments and urged party members to seek consultation through internal channels.

李在明总统提名前检察官金智溶担任重罪调查厅首任厅长一事，引发了与自由派人士的冲突。重罪调查厅是根据检控改革设立的，旨在调查重罪案件，而检控厅则负责起诉和审判。批评人士质疑金智溶过去对检控权的辩护以及他与前总统尹锡烈的所谓关系，而李在明则为其调查经验辩护。这场争议已演变为对改革动机和方法的分歧。

国家刑事调查局和公共检察署是通过拆分原检察署的侦查和起诉职能而成立的。

李明博于9月8日提名金智溶，总统府后来表示，进一步审查发现该人选没有问题。

秋美爱表示，金某曾参与检察官集体反对对尹锡烈采取纪律处分的行动，当时尹锡烈是检察长。

行政安全部长尹浩中下令对国家情报院光州分院院长林恩静进行调查，以查明其是否存在政治活动。此前，林恩静指控金某无视调查涉及另一名检察官的性侵指控的要求。

朝鲜民主主义人民党主席金珉锡敦促党员通过内部协商解决分歧。

发布于2026年10月12日下午4:54（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月12日下午5:34（韩国标准时间）

围绕新调查机构负责人提名人的争议暴露了自由派阵营内部日益扩大的裂痕

周三，韩国总统李在明在首尔青瓦台出席了韩国居民联合会（又称“民团”）代表和在日韩裔人士的聚会，庆祝该组织成立80周年。照片由《韩国时报》王泰锡拍摄。

总统与反对党成员，特别是那些政治倾向不同的反对党成员，在改革措施上发生冲突是正常的。

然而，李在明总统正面临一场不同寻常的冲突——来自他所在政党的成员和其他自由派人士的冲突。这场冲突的焦点在于提名前检察官金智溶担任首任重案调查厅厅长。

新的调查机构是检察机关改革的一部分，将检察机关分为负责调查严重犯罪的刑事调查局（SCIA）和负责起诉嫌疑人和提起诉讼的公共检察署（PPS）。

然而，9 月 8 日的提名却使期待已久的检察改革成为日益激烈的内部冲突的焦点，因为来自执政的韩国共同民主党 (DPK)、较小的自由派重建韩国党 (RKP) 以及其他自由派阵营的强硬派认为，他捍卫检察权的记录使他不适合担任首任检察长。

他们还称金是李在镕的前任、被罢黜的检察官出身的前总统尹锡烈的忠实拥护者。

从左至右依次为：京畿道知事秋美爱、执政党共同民主党议员金容民、以及重案调查厅光州分局局长林恩静。（韩联社）

强硬派包括京畿道知事秋美爱和国会议员金容民（均为民主党成员），以及朝鲜人民党国会议员朴恩静和国家情报院光州分院院长林恩静（曾任检察官，多年来公开支持自由派阵营）。

尽管有人反对，但总统表示，金的调查经验使他非常适合建立这个新机构，而且对他的履历进行进一步审查后发现，他的当选没有任何问题。

李也加大了对强硬派的批评力度，指责他们打着改革的旗号谋取私利。

“改革应该是一个目标，而不是一个博取关注和攻击他人的工具，”李在10月4日的社交媒体上写道。

但批评者的批评力度加大了。

秋美贤多次表示金与尹相近，称尹相近时，尹相近担任检察长，与当时的自由派总统文在寅意见相左，金相近曾参与检察官集体行动，反对文在寅对尹相近采取的纪律处分。

她表示，青瓦台关于金某没有参与保卫尹某的集体行动的解释是谎言，并称在改革似乎即将完成之际提名金某是一种背叛。

随后，李对秋美军发起反击。

周日，他在另一篇社交媒体帖子中批评了“那些一边享受着普通纳税人挥霍的奢侈品，一边却毫不犹豫地削减这些纳税人哪怕是微不足道的福利预算的人”。尽管他没有指名道姓，但这些言论被广泛解读为针对朱女士，此前她所在的省政府削减福利开支引发了争议。

林女士的反对提出了不同的挑战，因为她声称，被提名人担任检察官期间，无视了调查涉及另一名检察官的性侵犯指控的要求。

林继续批评金，如果金被任命，他将成为林的上司。周日，行政安全部长尹浩中下令对林进行调查，称该部将调查林是否利用职权从事政治活动。

部长表示：“林先生似乎误解了SCIA，认为它不是一个调查机构，而是一个搞政治的机构。我担心过去检察官干预政治的错误行为会在SCIA重演。”

这场争端已经扩大到包括对立法者动机及其改革记录的分歧。

民主党内改革倡导者金容民认为，被提名人本身也应该接受改革，并对李的立法提案提出了质疑。

RKP的朴槿惠同样否认了有关其个人野心的说法。

曾任司法部官员并参与调查前总统尹锡悦的韩国人民党议员朴槿惠认为，李在明之所以受到批评，是因为他与她反对的检察官结盟。朴槿惠甚至写道：“李在明政府终将成为历史的一部分。”

一位不愿透露姓名的法学教授表示：“最近的冲突表明，废除旧的检察机关并没有解决关于谁应该领导新机构或如何进行改革的分歧。”

在此背景下，共同民主党委员长金珉锡对这些论点表示不满，并敦促党员通过内部渠道寻求协商。