Opposition lawmakers hammered Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung over what they called the rushed launch of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the People Power Party said internal pushback over the agency's nominee chief had emerged immediately after its launch, charging that "the organization's discipline and neutrality are being shaken."
At the audit held at the National Assembly on the 6th, Cho noted that the ministry announced the appointments of the deputy chief and senior-level leadership one day before the agency's launch. "Just four days later, Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju branch, publicly opposed Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to become the agency's first chief," she said. "A subordinate publicly criticized a superior before his confirmation hearing had even been held."
Cho also questioned the political neutrality of the agency's leadership. She took issue in particular with the fact that Jeon Jong-min, the agency's deputy chief, had previously served as defense counsel in cases involving former lawmakers Cho Kuk and Choe Kang-wook, and that some regional branch heads came from special counsel teams appointed under the current administration.
"Isn't the agency supposed to investigate serious wrongdoing even when it involves those in power?" she said. "Will it be able to investigate properly if corruption cases emerge?"
Ruling party lawmakers focused on the vetting process for Kim and on the agency's staffing. Rep. Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party pressed the minister on why it took nearly a month after Kim's nomination for the confirmation request to be submitted to the National Assembly.
Yoon replied that he had conducted the review "like tapping stepping stones" before proceeding. "After confirming there were no major flaws that would impede the performance of his duties, we requested the confirmation hearing," he said. The remarks were read as drawing a line under claims within the ruling bloc that Kim was unfit for the post.
Kim was nominated as the agency's first chief on the 8th of last month, but the submission of his confirmation request to the National Assembly was delayed as some in the ruling bloc raised objections, including the claim that he was a prosecutor loyal to former President Yoon Suk-yeol. President Lee Jae-myung approved the confirmation request on the 2nd of this month, 24 days after the nomination. The two parties plan to hold the confirmation hearing as early as the 14th of this month following consultations.
The absence of any former police officials in the agency's leadership also came under scrutiny. When Rep. Kim Young-bae pointed out that no senior-grade investigators — including the deputy chief and regional branch heads — came from police backgrounds, the minister explained that unlike the agency chief, who is a political appointee, senior-grade investigators face a mandatory retirement age of 60, making it impossible for retired police executives to take the posts. "A senior-grade investigator corresponds to the rank of chief superintendent general in the police, and there are only seven officers at that rank," he said. "It is structurally difficult for a serving chief superintendent general to request a transfer to such a post."
He added that the agency has filled a total of 1,900 positions, including 1,837 staff transferred from the prosecution service under special appointment rules, six hired as senior-grade investigators through experienced-hire recruitment, and 57 seconded from other agencies to the joint investigation division. "Going forward, we plan to fill about 15% through competitive experienced-hire recruitment, drawing on police officers as well as lawyers in private practice, legal professionals and accountants," he said.
Separately, the two parties clashed on the same day, immediately after the ministry's briefing, over a police appearance by Rep. Kim Jae-sup of the People Power Party. The People Power Party protested that summoning an opposition lawmaker on the first day of the audit obstructed the proceedings, while the Democratic Party countered that a normal investigative procedure should not be cast as a political attack.
Rep. Kang Myung-koo, the People Power Party's floor manager on the committee, said: "On the first day of an audit when the opposition is supposed to scrutinize the government thoroughly, is it acceptable to put an opposition lawmaker in front of police cameras like this?" He called it "petty political revenge for the defeat in the Seoul mayoral election."
Kim Jae-sup was the target of a criminal complaint after he raised questions during the 9th nationwide local elections about a "Cancun business trip" taken by Democratic Party Seoul mayoral candidate Chung Won-oh while he was head of Seongdong District. The allegation concerns a 2023 trip Chung took to Cancun, Mexico, with a female public official, in which the official's gender was recorded as male on the review and approval document for the overseas business trip.
Lee Hae-sik, the Democratic Party's floor manager on the committee, pushed back. "He wasn't forcibly arrested, and the timing would have been arranged in advance," he said. "You shouldn't frame it as though it were a political offensive." Lawmakers from both parties exchanged shouts during the exchange.
