(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Jae-ha = At the National Assembly confirmation hearing for candidate Kim Ji-yong, the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, not only the opposition party but also some lawmakers from the ruling party went on the offensive by raising questions about candidate Kim's suitability, attracting attention.
Some pan-government lawmakers, including the Democratic Party of Korea and the Fatherland Innovation Party, criticized candidate Kim for "showing cowardice" in relation to the handling of cases during his time as a prosecutor, while the People Power Party criticized that the Central Investigation Agency was launched in a "hurried manner" due to conflict within the ruling party.
Rep. Yoon Geon-young of the Democratic Party, who was the first to ask questions, responded to the suspicion that candidate Kim was involved in the prosecution of former chief prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong's arbitrary assault case in the past, saying, "The candidate's cowardly choice was revealed in this process of political prosecutors uniting to protect Han Dong-hoon."
He, a pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) faction, raised his voice, saying, "The candidate was a person who was clearly in the approval line as the Deputy Director of the High Prosecutors' Office at the time," and added, "Saying confidently, 'I approved,' is the attitude and image that the people want."
Representative Yoon also took issue with the fact that Candidate Kim did not submit an objection opposing the indictment at the time regarding the illegal departure ban case of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-eui.
At the same time, he directly criticized the head of the Central Investigation Agency, saying, “The head of the Central Investigation Agency must be proud in front of the people and must exercise his power more strictly than anyone else. However, the attitude shown by the current candidate shows that he is cowardly and turns a blind eye to injustice.”
Rep. Jeong Chun-saeng of the pro-Moon Kuk Reform Party also emphasized, “The first head of the Central Investigations Office is in a position to fulfill the expectations of our people who aspired to reform the prosecution,” adding, “But candidate Kim is not that kind of person, so our people are opposing him.”
People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-heum said, “It is surprising that the confirmation hearing was held so late due to family strife in the ruling party,” and pointed out, “There was not this level of conflict even during the Democratic Party presidential candidate primary or party leadership election.”
He also said, “Many citizens are anxious because the Central Investigation Agency started without preparation like this,” and “Contrary to the good intentions, the Lee Jae-myung administration’s prosecution reform is expected to have tremendous side effects.”
Rep. Kang Myeong-gu of the People Power Party, a member of the opposition party, also said, "They did not send a request for a personnel hearing to conduct additional verification (of Candidate Kim), but fought among themselves. Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae also said a word, and members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee also helped each other, but the members of the Public Administration and Security Committee, who are supposed to hold the hearing, feel like fools."
The ruling and opposition parties unanimously criticized candidate Kim over the issue of data submission.
Rep. Park Jeong-hyun of the Democratic Party asked for materials such as the Central Investigation Agency's operation manual but did not receive them, saying, "The Supreme Prosecutor's Office is just following the way it treated the National Assembly in the past," and added, "If this situation is tolerated, the Central Investigation Agency will become nothing more than Season 2 of the Prosecutor's Office."
People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin also requested candidate Kim's award details, but did not receive them, adding, "They are not providing any of the materials that should of course be submitted. The candidate is not at all prepared to receive a personnel hearing."
