Lim Eun-jung Criticizes Chief Candidate Kim Ji-yong: "Wasn't It the Prosecution You Wanted to Protect?"

Lim Eun-jung, chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office and a prominent reformist voice within the prosecution, has published a critical post questioning the background of Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for the inaugural head of the Major Crime Investigation Agency (MCIA).

Chief Prosecutor Lim posted an article titled "Public Inquiries Regarding Kim Ji-yong, Nominee for Inaugural Head of the MCIA" on Facebook this morning (the 17th), stating, "There are answers I wish to hear alongside many citizens who yearn for investigative structure reforms, which is why I am inevitably raising these public questions."

Referring to nominee Kim's remarks on the 14th that he was not involved in the Channel A case and had expressed opposition to the investigation and indictment in the illegal departure ban case of former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-of, Lim asked, "How did you express your consistent stance, and what efforts did you make? Did you exercise your right to raise objections?"

Addressing Kim's past remarks that he argued for the necessity of supplementary investigations by the prosecution to "protect crime victims," Lim pointedly asked, "Wasn't it the prosecution, rather than crime victims, that you sought to protect?"

"The prosecution was abolished because it lost public trust, but what responsibility does the nominee bear?" Lim emphasized, adding, "As you failed to shoulder responsibility while serving as the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Inspection Division 1, deputy chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, and head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Department, can you shoulder the weighty responsibility of heading the MCIA?"

She further pressed, "When you served as a senior prosecutor such as the head of Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Division 1, you prioritized organizational logic over the law and failed to fulfill your legal duties of inspection and investigation. Will you be able to comply with the law if you become the head of the MCIA?"

Lim recently submitted an application for special appointment as an MCIA prosecutor and investigator ahead of the agency's launch next month.

Having expressed her intent to work at the MCIA early on via a video conference of frontline agency heads held late last year, Lim previously explained that she hopes to take on practical tasks such as investigation or inspection rather than leadership positions like the head of the agency.

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