President Lee approves hearing on head of new investigative body — Korea Herald

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has approved a request to hold parliamentary hearings on Kim Ji-yong, who was nominated to become the first head of the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. The Korea Herald reported this, citing a presidential administration official.

Hearing on the nomination

The approval of the document requesting parliamentary hearings on Kim's nomination may indicate steps by the president toward his formal appointment. Lee nominated Kim Ji-yong at the beginning of the previous month on the recommendation of the interior minister.

After the nomination, doubts about Kim emerged within the ruling Democratic Party. In particular, claims were made that he had previously opposed prosecutorial reform. The presidential administration said it had conducted an additional review of the candidate and found no grounds to change its decision to nominate him.

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Prosecutorial reform

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency was due to begin operations on the same day and take over the prosecution's functions in investigating serious crimes. This is part of the prosecutorial reform being carried out by the Lee Jae-myung administration.

As part of the reform, the prosecution will be renamed the Public Prosecution Service. It will be responsible only for bringing and maintaining charges against suspects. The new service was also due to begin operations on the same day.