Blue House: "Did Prosecutor General Maintain Neutrality When Not Attending Cabinet Meetings?"

The Blue House has once again pushed back against criticism that having the heads of investigative and prosecutorial agencies, such as the Major Crimes Investigation Agency and the Indictment Agency, attend Cabinet meetings could negatively affect their independence.

During a briefing on this day (October 22), Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication Sung Ki-hong said, "The Government of the Sovereign People is making firm efforts to uphold the fairness of investigations, political neutrality, and the independence of indictment decisions, and this principle will remain steadfast in the future," adding, "Matters concerning investigations into specific individual cases or instructions regarding indictments will not be addressed at all in Cabinet meetings."

He also strongly refuted criticism from some quarters that "the president is directing investigations," which arose after President Lee Jae-myung recently made remarks to Kim Ji-yong, head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, who was attending a Cabinet meeting.

He criticized the reports as "very regrettable and distorted articles," asking, "Is it directing an investigation when the president says, 'Please prove the raison d'être of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency by conducting investigations without sanctuary and sternly cracking down on major crimes such as white-collar crime, power-based corruption, and financial crime, regardless of whose side they are on'?"

He emphasized, "Directing an investigation generally means bossing people around regarding individual cases," adding, "Just as specific instructions are not given to ministers who hold licensing or patent authority, specific investigative directives will not be issued."

In this way, as there will be no interference in the investigation of specific cases, he also signaled a policy of continuing their attendance at Cabinet meetings to share the overall direction of state affairs.

A Blue House official firmly stated, "While investigative agencies perform specialized functions, they are bodies that must share the direction of the government as a whole, just like other administrative agencies, in accordance with the Constitution and the law," adding, "In that regard, they are not agencies that should receive special treatment."

The official continued, "The perception itself that classifies heads of investigative agencies as special entities distinct from heads of other administrative agencies, and views their attendance at Cabinet meetings itself as a problem, is what is problematic," asking, "I would like to ask in return whether they were truly politically independent and did not conduct political investigations during the era when it was customary for the Prosecutor General not to attend Cabinet meetings."

The official emphasized, "Whether the Prosecutor General, the head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, or the head of the Indictment Agency attends is not an automatic safeguard guaranteeing the neutrality of investigations," adding, "What matters is the president's strong reform will in appointing heads of investigative agencies, and the agency heads' will to remain independent from external political pressure." The official stressed, "The commitment to the political independence and neutrality of investigations should be confirmed through the environment, such as the institutional completion of prosecutorial reform, and judging it by whether they attend Cabinet meetings is one-sided and an excessive concern."

Furthermore, the official added, "Rather, precisely because there are voices of concern, the heads of investigative agencies will conduct themselves with even greater propriety on the open stage of Cabinet meetings, brace themselves, and investigate in a way that avoids misunderstanding."

(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.