Kim Ji-yong (28th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), the first nominee to head the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, said on the 14th that "while serving in the prosecution, I was never categorized as being close to a particular person, nor did I ever receive any benefit for being close to a particular person."
Meeting with reporters in front of the preparation team office for the confirmation hearing of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency chief in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that afternoon, Kim said, "After the Yoon Suk-yeol administration launched, I was sidelined in the first round of prosecutorial appointments, and I resigned in Sept. 2023, about a year later."
According to the ruling camp, the presidential office has reportedly begun additional vetting of Kim. After returning from a trip to France last week, President Lee Jae-myung was said to have ordered further verification. After these media reports emerged, Kim arranged to meet reporters and distributed a statement saying he had a bad relationship with former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Within the ruling camp, some argued that Kim is unfit to be the first nominee for the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency chief, saying that during his time in the prosecution, when the so-called "complete deprivation of prosecutorial investigative powers" legislation was being pushed, he argued to maintain the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority. Kim also signed a statement by chiefs prosecutors opposing then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's order suspending the duties of Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol in 2020.
In response, Kim said, "What I argued in the past about the need for supplementary investigations was not for the prosecution, but out of concern and conviction that there must be no gaps in protecting crime victims," adding, "I believe the nation's criminal justice system exists 'to protect the people's lives and safety from crime and to guarantee the people's peaceful daily lives.'"
He also said, "I am deeply reflecting on the fact that the prosecution I served in lost the people's trust and even faced abolition," and "I strongly agree with the grand principle of criminal justice reform to separate investigation and indictment."
Kim said, "The Criminal Procedure Act was revised in the National Assembly through democratic procedures under the principle of separating investigation and indictment, and I understand that various systems to protect crime victims have been introduced," adding, "Now it is time to respect the legislative intent of the National Assembly, successfully establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and focus our capabilities so that the new criminal justice system can take root with the people's trust."
Asked about his thoughts on the presidential office ordering additional vetting that day, Kim answered, "If the verification process proceeds, the facts will come to light," and "I believe that since I am still a nominee, I must faithfully undergo the vetting."
On the background of his sudden statement that day, he said it was "because reports are coming out that differ somewhat from what I know." On social media that day, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min urged his resignation, saying, "Kim has walked the path of a typical pro-Yoon and political prosecutor, including the excessive indictment of prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong related to Han Dong-hoon, and being in the indictment command line in the illegal travel ban case of Kim Hak-ui."
In response, Kim said, "I was not in the position of the final decision-maker at the time," adding, "I had a consistent view and clearly stated that consistent opinion, but it was not accepted, which I still regret." However, citing concerns about leaking investigative secrets, he did not reveal what his opinion was at the time. Kim only said, "If I have further opinions in the future, there will be opportunities to disclose them in due course."