Ruling-party backlash over nominee raises questions about investigative independence
President Lee Jae Myung recently ordered additional vetting of Kim Ji-yong, whom he nominated to head the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, which is scheduled to launch early next month.
It is necessary to clarify whether there were any problems with the initial vetting, though it had already been completed; above all, the circumstances raise suspicions that Lee's order may have been influenced by strong backlash from hard-liners in the ruling party.
Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Park Ju-min and Kim Yong-min, among others, called for the nomination to be withdrawn. Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae, a former Democratic Party lawmaker who chaired the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized the nomination on Sept. 12, saying, “If someone who was in the same boat as Han Dong-hoon becomes the founding head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, is that democratization?”
Han, an independent lawmaker, previously served as a prosecutor, justice minister and leader of the opposition People Power Party.
Park, Kim and Choo are taking issue with the nominee’s record: While serving at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, he opposed the Democratic Party’s push to abolish prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority. Kim Ji-yong had also joined a statement opposing then-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s request for disciplinary action against then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok Yeol.
If additional vetting uncovers any new serious grounds for disqualification, there would be no need to hesitate to withdraw the nomination. But there would be a problem if the order for additional vetting was issued simply because of backlash from some ruling-party hard-liners.
There is a concern that the additional vetting could degenerate into a process for testing the nominee’s political loyalty. The head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is not a position to be filled solely by the standards of reform sought by a particular political faction. How faithfully the nominee has followed their approach to prosecution reform cannot be the key criterion for qualification as head of the agency.
The most important qualification for the head of the agency is investigative expertise. For such expertise to be properly exercised, above all, political neutrality and independence must be upheld. The head of the agency should be able to handle even cases that may be politically inconvenient for those in power according to principle and deal with them based on the law and evidence, regardless of whether they involve the ruling or opposition parties.
Cheong Wa Dae should proceed with the confirmation hearing process if there are no concerns about the nominee’s investigative capabilities and commitment. Once the head is appointed, the agency’s investigative independence must be strictly upheld.
Pressure from ruling-party hard-liners on the president and internal party divisions appear serious enough to have prompted him to order additional vetting of the nominee. This is a phenomenon that has emerged as the president’s approval rating has fallen.
After Gyeonggi Gov. Choo criticized President Lee, saying he was “anxiously clinging to the forces behind the insurrection,” the Democratic Party leadership responded to her criticism by invoking the political circumstances surrounding the impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, a former Democratic Party lawmaker. The selection of the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency has triggered clashes within the party, with even the taboo word “impeachment” being mentioned.
Although the agency is set to launch in just over two weeks, it appears unlikely to operate normally for a considerable period after its launch. About 40 percent of its staff positions are not filled yet. Moreover, the number of prosecutors to be assigned to the Public Prosecution Office is reportedly set to be significantly reduced at the demand of ruling-party hardliners.
A dire situation in which people will be more vulnerable to crime is looming. However, Democratic Party hardliners are demanding that only figures who have wholeheartedly supported their reforms to weaken prosecutors’ powers be appointed. Public anxiety is bound to grow.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
