On the 30th, Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won said, "I will do my best to ensure that the new criminal justice system can take root stably as a system trusted by the public."
Kim said in remarks shortly after being nominated, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility being named the Ministry of Justice Minister nominee for a government of popular sovereignty."
Kim said, "As a judge and a lawyer, I worked to protect the rights and human rights of the people, and at The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, I have pressed ahead looking only to the public and justice," adding, "Korea now stands on the verge of a major shift in the criminal justice system that has been in place for 70 years."
Kim emphasized, "Based on my experience so far, I will uncover the substantive truth more quickly, protect public safety, and more robustly safeguard the rights of crime victims."
Kim said, "I will carry out legal administration for the people and fulfill my responsibilities to ensure the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration," adding, "I will approach the upcoming confirmation hearing with humility and sincerity."
President Lee Jae-myung on the day named Kim as the Ministry of Justice Minister nominee to succeed former Minister Jung Sung-ho.
Within the Democratic Party, Kim is regarded as a leading lawmaker in the pro-Lee Jae-myung camp. In 2022, when Lee served as Democratic Party leader, Kim served as chair of the legal affairs committee and also co-chaired the party's internal group "Lawmakers' group to pursue dismissal of the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case and a parliamentary investigation."
In the 22nd National Assembly, Kim directly took part in follow-up legislation to abolish prosecutors' investigative powers. In July, Kim joined the Democratic Party's Criminal Procedure Act revision task force (TF) and led the work to revise the Criminal Procedure Act to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority.
If Kim takes office after the confirmation hearing, the nominee will handle tasks including follow-up measures for the revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect on Oct. 2, preparations for launching the Prosecution Service (Gongso-cheong) and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and stabilizing the prosecution's organization.