Kim Ji-yong attends cabinet meeting for second straight week amid neutrality concerns

Kim Ji-yong, chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, attended a cabinet meeting for the second consecutive week Tuesday, even as criticism persists over whether it is appropriate for the head of an investigative body to sit in on such sessions.

Kim attended the cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. His presence drew fire from opposition politicians and civil society groups after he first attended a session on Oct. 20, shortly after taking office, with critics calling the move inappropriate.

At a comprehensive audit of the National Assembly's Interior and Safety Committee on Monday, People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin presented a photograph showing Kim taking notes while President Lee spoke at the Oct. 20 cabinet meeting. "Don't you think this looks unfamiliar and inappropriate?" Kwon asked.

Kim said he was "aware of the concerns held by some members of the public." He also said he had decided whether to attend cabinet meetings in consultation with the Ministry of Interior and Safety and had conveyed the relevant concerns to the ministry.

When asked whether he would continue attending, Kim stopped short of a direct answer, saying only that he would "have to wait and see."

Cheong Wa Dae has said it will maintain its policy of having the serious crimes agency chief and others attend cabinet meetings.

President Lee pushed back against calls to exclude the agency chief from cabinet sessions on Thursday, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that abandoning oversight of the agency would violate the Constitution and the Government Organization Act and constitute grounds for impeachment.

Lee said the Constitution and the Government Organization Act explicitly state that all agencies under ministries — whether the prosecution service, the Korea Meteorological Administration or the National Fire Agency — are subject to the direction and supervision of the president and prime minister. "The president's direction and supervision over state affairs is both a right and a responsibility," he said.

He added that relinquishing oversight of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency "would violate the Constitution and the Government Organization Act and amount to grounds for impeachment," calling it "a crime subject to criminal punishment as dereliction of duty."

Turning to those arguing the agency chief should not attend, Lee asked, "Are you saying we should violate the Constitution and the law by not exercising direction and supervision over the agency?" He added, "Are you saying that direction and supervision should not be conducted in an open meeting but behind closed doors, out of public view?"

He said it was "illogical" to argue that excluding the agency from open meetings was a way to ensure political neutrality.