Kim Ji-yong appointed as the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, approved the same day the confirmation hearing report was adopted… 38 days after the recommendation (Yonhap News tally)

Confirmation hearing at the Public Administration and Security Committee on 10/14 → Report stating both "qualified" and "unqualified" adopted by agreement of the ruling and opposition parties on 10/15 → President Lee Jae-myung approved the appointment the same day

President Lee Jae-myung approved the appointment of Kim Ji-yong, nominee for the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, on the 15th. Kang Yoo-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, said in a written press notice at around 19:20 that afternoon, "President Lee Jae-myung has approved the appointment of Kim Ji-yong, nominee for head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, for whom a confirmation hearing report has been adopted". It was the very day the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee adopted the confirmation hearing report. Based on Yonhap News's tally, it was 38 days after Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung recommended Head Kim on September 7. The Hankyoreh and Yonhap News TV tallied it as 37 days based on September 8.

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency was launched on October 2 without a head, and the vacancy in its leadership was resolved after 13 days. President Lee posted on his own X account on the 16th, "I congratulate and encourage the start of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency together with the people". Rep. Chae Hyun-il, a member of the Public Administration and Security Committee, posted on his own X account the same day an article related to Head Kim's inauguration and said there had been concerns before the confirmation hearing. As no posts related to Head Kim's appointment by the official X accounts of the presidential office, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, or the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency were found in the search, the official and party-concerned X links were written as the posts of the President himself, a member of the Public Administration and Security Committee, and a lawmaker who dealt with the adoption of the confirmation hearing report. https://x.com/Jaemyung_Lee/status/2110926663261553032 https://x.com/chaihyunil/status/2111047747923280243

Course of the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the procedure for appointing its first head

The broad framework for establishing the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency was first set in the revision of the Government Organization Act. According to the Korea Law Information Center, Act No. 21065 (promulgated October 1, 2025, entered into force October 2, 2026) abolishes the Prosecution Service and newly establishes the Prosecution Office under the Minister of Justice and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency under the Minister of the Interior and Safety. This was followed by the Act on the Organization and Operation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (Act No. 21491), promulgated on March 24, 2026, and entered into force on October 2 of the same year. However, Article 9 (Nominee Recommendation Committee) and Article 33 (Personnel Committee) entered into force on the date of promulgation, and the addenda permitted preparatory acts such as the appointment of a head before entry into force, and the President's advance request for a confirmation hearing for a nominee who had gone through recommendation and nomination.

The qualifications and steps for the first head are also stated in the same Act. Article 7 provides that the Minister of the Interior and Safety shall recommend 1 person from among the nominees recommended by the Nominee Recommendation Committee, and the President shall appoint that person after a confirmation hearing by the National Assembly, and provides that the term is 2 years and the head may not be reappointed. Article 8 sets as qualifications engagement in investigative or legal work for 15 years or more, service as a judge, prosecutor, or lawyer for 15 years or more, or service as an assistant professor or higher in the field of law for 15 years or more, and recognizes the aggregation of careers. Article 9 provides that the Recommendation Committee shall consist of 9 members including the chair, recommend 3 or more nominees, and that the minister shall respect the content of the recommendation in making the recommendation. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on August 19, 2026, the composition of the Recommendation Committee and public recommendations of nominees through August 26. However, as Head Kim's personal recommendation date is not specified by this announcement alone, the statutory procedure and the recommendation date are written separately.

Confirmation hearing: "I do not think I am unqualified"

The Public Administration and Security Committee held a confirmation hearing for nominee Kim on the 14th. When People Power Party Rep. Park Duck-heum pointed out that voices opposing the appointment were coming from some in the ruling party and the ruling bloc, nominee Kim said, "I pride myself that, in handling cases, I handled them according to my convictions without leaning toward any political tendency," and said, "So, in running the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, I do not think I am unqualified."

Rep. Jung Chun-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party, referring to the fact that nominee Kim was head of the Criminal Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2021 at the time of the indictment in the case of the illegal ban on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui leaving the country, asked whether he intended to apologize to former presidential secretary for civil affairs Lee Kwang-cheol and others, who were indicted in this case and later confirmed not guilty. Nominee Kim said, "I cannot say I have no responsibility at all," and said, "I am fully willing to apologize personally."

Democratic Party Rep. Yoon Kun-young said that, in relation to the indictment process in 2020 for then-Chief Prosecutor Jung Jin-woong, nominee Kim did not submit materials to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office fact-finding team, and said it was "passing by pretending not to see injustice." Nominee Kim said, "I have never passed by pretending not to see injustice." Nominee Kim said that at the time he was deputy head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and was in the approval line, but opposed the indictment.

People Power Party Rep. Joo Ho-young, referring to the fact that Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Park Eun-jung, Democratic Party Rep. Kim Yong-min, and Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju District Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and others continued to make remarks opposing the appointment, said they were making "remarks close to defamation or personal insult." Nominee Kim answered, "I personally think they are insulting expressions as well, but I think they said them in light of the importance of the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency." He went on to say, "I think Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju District Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, will also agree that the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency should settle successfully," and said, "I will cooperate and run it well." Head Lim's side issued no position on the remark.

When People Power Party Rep. Park Sung-woong said Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's critical remarks were extreme, nominee Kim said, "I think she may have said them because of the weight and importance of the position of head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency." The confirmation hearing continued until that night, and its duration was reported differently, as "about 11 hours and 30 minutes" (10:00–21:41) based on the Hankyoreh's tally, and as "about 12 hours" based on Newsis's tally.