President Lee Jae-myung on the 30th named Rep. Kim Seung-won of the ruling Democratic Party as his nominee for justice minister, immediately shifting the political spotlight to what is shaping up to be a contentious confirmation fight. The presidential office said Kim, a former judge who has worked across the courts, legal practice, the executive branch and the legislature, is suited to guide what it called a stable push for changes to the criminal justice system that have been under discussion for 70 years.
Kim said after his nomination that he would work hard to carry out reforms in the criminal justice system and other pending tasks. He has played a leading role in talks over changes that would end prosecutors’ direct investigative powers and supplementary investigative powers, separate investigation and prosecution, and create new agencies such as a prosecution office and a serious crimes investigation unit. Within the ruling party, he has been described as an architect of prosecutorial reform.
Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo, who chairs the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, praised Kim as someone who has pushed reform through legislation rather than rhetoric and said he was the right person to expand the justice ministry’s role in protecting the public’s rights. But opposition criticism began immediately, centered on Kim’s role as co-chair of a lawmakers’ group formed in February to push for dismissal of cases against President Lee and a related parliamentary investigation.
The nomination has set up a direct clash between supporters who see Kim as a key reformer and critics who portray him as politically aligned with the president. The confirmation process is expected to be a major test of Lee’s broader criminal justice agenda.
