Moon Hong-joo, a lawyer at Ilseon Law Firm and former special prosecutor, along with Lee Yoon-je, a professor at Myongji University and former special prosecutor, Kim Kwan-jeong, a lawyer at Kim Kwan-jeong Law Office, and Kim Ji-yong, a lawyer at Apex Law Firm, have been selected as candidates for the inaugural chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
One of these candidates will be nominated by Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung. The chief will lead the agency, which investigates seven major crimes, including corruption, economic offenses, defense business crimes, drug-related crimes, national security crimes, cybercrimes, and legal distortion.
The candidate recommendation committee convened on September 4 at the Government Seoul Building to select nominees for the minister's recommendation. The committee received nominations from the public, corporations, and organizations for 23 candidates between August 19 and 26. They evaluated 11 candidates based on their expertise in serious crime investigations, fairness, human rights awareness, and leadership, ultimately selecting candidates with a two-thirds majority vote.
Kim Kwan-jeong, a representative lawyer, has a background as a chief prosecutor, having served as the head of the Criminal Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the chief prosecutor of the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, and the chief prosecutor of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office. During his tenure as head of the Criminal Division, he had conflicts with then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl regarding the so-called 'prosecutor-media collusion' case.
Kim Ji-yong is also a former prosecutor, having served as the chief prosecutor of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office and the deputy chief prosecutor of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office. He led the Major Disaster Investigation Support Team's Major Civil Disaster Team in 2022 and resigned from his position as deputy chief prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office in 2023.
Among the candidates, Moon Hong-joo has judicial experience and served as a special prosecutor in the 'Kim Geon-hee National Affairs Scandal' investigation, which included inquiries into the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway allegations.
Lee Yoon-je has worked as a prosecutor in the Suwon, Jeonju, and Cheongju District Prosecutors' Offices and has been a professor at Ajou University School of Law. In 2025, he served as a special prosecutor to investigate acts of insurrection and foreign exchange by former President Yoon Seok-youl and led investigations into former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae.
Chairman Lee Joo-won stated, "We approached the evaluation with a heavy sense of responsibility to find the right person to implement the purpose of prosecutorial reform, which is the separation of investigation and prosecution." He added, "We considered various opinions received from public nominations and the qualities and capabilities needed for the first chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency to recommend the optimal candidates."
Minister Yoon plans to nominate one of the recommended candidates as chief. The nominated candidate will undergo a National Assembly confirmation hearing before being appointed by President Lee Jae-myung. The term for the chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is two years, with no possibility of reappointment. The agency is set to launch on October 2.
Minister Yoon stated, "I will do my best to promptly nominate the final candidate so that the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency can successfully launch on the 2nd of next month."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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