SCIA chief's Cabinet seat raises neutrality concerns Related Article New crime agency makes 1st arrest since launch Lee formally appoints Kim Ji-Yong as inaugural chief of new serious crimes agency SCIA chief nominee Kim Ji-yong vows politically neutral investigations This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

Kim Ji-yong, chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), attended a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung for the first time on Wednesday. On his first day in office on Tuesday, Kim said he would root out the politicization of investigations, which he described as a fundamental cause of the prosecution's abuse of its investigative powers. Although he said he would decide whether to attend Cabinet meetings after reviewing relevant laws and consulting with other agencies, he appeared at the meeting the very next day. If his attendance was merely a courtesy call following his inauguration, it may be understandable. But if he intends to keep attending, the situation is different. Such a move would invite doubts about the sincerity of his pledge to end the politicization of investigations and intensify concerns over the SCIA's political neutrality.

At a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 13, President Lee said that the attendance of the heads of the SCIA and the Public Prosecution Office at Cabinet meetings was "a matter of course under the Government Organization Act and the Constitution," though he acknowledged that there might be differing views.

Yet the SCIA is tasked with investigating serious crimes, having taken over the prosecution's direct investigative functions. Even the president and other senior public officials could fall within its investigative remit. The former prosecutor general's absence from Cabinet meetings reflected a respect for the independence of investigations and prosecutions.

People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), which has actively advocated separating investigative and prosecutorial powers, also issued a statement on Friday, opposing regular Cabinet attendance by the heads of investigative and prosecutorial agencies. It argued that Cabinet members themselves could become subjects of investigations and that their presence at the meetings could impose political pressure on investigators and prosecutors even without explicit instructions concerning specific cases.

Kim now bears the considerable responsibility of establishing the newly launched SCIA as an institution worthy of public trust. On his first day in office, he pledged to uphold fairness, neutrality and procedural justice so that the agency could become an investigative body that would not cause public concern. Ensuring impartiality and political independence also means avoiding unnecessary grounds for public suspicion.

Kim should demonstrate his determination to keep the agency at arm's length from political power by refraining from attending future Cabinet meetings. President Lee, too, should reconsider his insistence that the attendance of investigative agency chiefs is a matter of course. If his call for Kim to investigate without favoring either side, leaving no one above the law, was sincere, the president should take the initiative in telling the new SCIA chief that he need not attend Cabinet meetings. That would be the right way to ease the burden on Kim as he begins his challenging task.