President Lee Calls Objections to Crime Agency Chief's Cabinet Attendance 'Far-Fetched,' Cites AI Response

President Lee Jae-myung on October 21 posted a rebuttal—using generative AI Gemini—against criticism from the opposition and others over the heads of the Public Prosecution Service and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency attending Cabinet meetings.

On his X (formerly Twitter) account on the same day, President Lee shared a post titled "I Asked Gemini."

In the response, Gemini addressed the criticism regarding the agency chiefs attending Cabinet meetings, stating, "This denies Article 11 of the Government Organization Act, and arguing that the head of the Public Prosecution Service and the commissioner of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency cannot attend Cabinet meetings is an unconstitutional and far-fetched claim." It added, "It is sophistry that directly denies the president's administrative supervisory authority and the government leadership structure prescribed by the Government Organization Act."

This is interpreted to mean that under the Government Organization Act, the president, as the head of the government, directs and supervises the heads of all central administrative agencies, and the heads of important administrative agencies designated by the prime minister may attend Cabinet meetings and speak on matters under their jurisdiction.

The post also included the remark: "Saying 'even if the president directs and supervises them, do not allow them to attend the official Cabinet meeting' is a clear contradiction. If someone is the head of an agency under the president's direction, attending Cabinet meetings to transparently discuss affairs aligns with constitutional politics of responsibility." It continued, "Attempting to block this is a dangerous notion aimed at neutralizing the president's administrative supervisory authority and placing investigative and prosecutorial bodies outside democratic control as 'extraterritorial sanctuaries behind closed doors.'"

After introducing Gemini's response, President Lee posted a separate message, pointing out, "All agency heads, including the commissioner of the Korea Forest Service, the administrator of the National Fire Agency, and the commissioner general of the Korea Coast Guard, attend the meeting to hold discussions. The Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service are also merely agencies under the direction of the president, the prime minister, and ministers."

He added, "Correcting the misguided perception and practice of giving special treatment to investigative agencies is also normalizing the abnormal," stressing, "Just as I do not give ministers instructions regarding specific permits and approvals, I will not direct investigations into specific cases, so you do not need to worry."

Earlier, Kim Ji-yong, head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, attended a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee for the first time on the previous day (October 20), sparking concerns from some quarters that the independence and neutrality of investigations could be compromised.

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