New justice minister, first chief of anti-corruption agency named

President Moon Jae-in’s prosecutorial reform is entering a new chapter in the new year, with nominees announced for the inaugural chief of a new anti-corruption body and the justice minister in his final Cabinet reshuffle of the year on Wednesday.

Moon nominated Kim Jin-wook, a former judge and a Constitutional Court scholar, to head the upcoming Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking officials handling corruption among ranking government officials like prosecutors.

After the confirmation hearing report is passed at the National Assembly within 20 days, the new non-prosecution agency, key to the president’s campaign pledges to fight corruption, will finally kick off in the weeks to follow.

“I’m asking for support for the prompt launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials as the parliamentary hearing is held smoothly by act of law,” Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok.

Kim, 54, started his career as a judge at Seoul Central District Court in 1995, and after three years he joined the nation’s largest law firm Kim & Chang to work as a lawyer until 2010. Then he moved to the Constitutional Court, where he has been working as a senior researcher.

The ruling bloc said Kim, who has remained politically neutral throughout his career, is a fitting figure for the new post that requires complete neutrality and independence. But opposition parties that had preferred a prosecutor for the job lashed out at the nomination, citing procedural problems in the recommendation process.

A bill to set up the new anti-corruption body took effect in July, but its launch has been delayed as the rival parties failed to narrow their differences on the inaugural leadership. Aimed at expediting the nomination process, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pushed ahead with a revision early this month to deprive the opposition of its veto power.

After six meetings of the seven-member nomination committee over the past months, two finalists -- a former judge and a former prosecutor -- were selected Monday with the consent of five members. Two members, representing the main opposition People Power Party, walked out of the meeting to boycott the nomination process.

Moon’s final pick Wednesday was the former judge, Kim. 

Later in the day, Moon also announced three minister nominees – Rep. Park Beom-kye of the Democratic Party for justice minister, Rep. Han Jeoung-ae, also from the ruling party, for environment minister and Hwang Ki-chul, a chair professor at Kookmin University, for patriots and veterans affairs minister.

Park, a former judge and a three-term lawmaker, will be replacing Minister Choo Mi-ae, who offered her resignation last week after a yearlong battle with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.

Even though political tensions are expected to continue during the confirmation hearings of the CIO chief and the minister nominees, Cheong Wa Dae expressed expectations for the president to focus on other hot-button issues like coronavirus vaccines and to win back public support next year.

In support of the president’s fresh start, his top aides – Noh Young-min, presidential chief of staff, Kim Sang-jo, the president’s chief of staff for policy, and Kim Jong-ho, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, also offered their resignations the same day.

“President Moon will deliberate on their decisions during the New Year holiday,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. But he denied that their departures indicated any specific policy failures like the delayed vaccine procurement.

“They played a key role in state administration over the years. They agreed now is the time for new faces to carry out the jobs with renewed commitment.”

Critics, however, predicted a limited impact of Wednesday’s Cabinet reshuffle on elevating Moon’s falling approval ratings, with his final year in office looming.

“There was no surprise in the Cabinet reshuffle,” said political commentator Lee Jong-geun. “Until the first batch of vaccines arrive and the nation’s inoculation rate rises, there seems little breakthrough for his presidency in the final year.”

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, echoed that sentiment.

“Prosecutorial reform is already an old issue for the public. Among other things, it is not a life-or-death issue. What people want to know the most now is how much and how fast coronavirus vaccines will be secured,” he said.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)