President Lee Jae-myung and hardliners within the ruling coalition publicly clashed over the achievements and details of prosecutorial reform. After President Lee indirectly criticized some reform advocates in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party, and the Justice Reform Party refuted his claims, prompting the Blue House to issue a response on the night of October 5.
The conflict began with a post by President Lee on the morning of October 5 regarding prosecutorial reform.
In his post, President Lee stated, "Prosecutorial reform is for the people, not to create a political legacy for specific individuals," adding, "It is wrong to undermine or belittle the efforts of others in order to monopolize the achievements made through collective effort."
He further explained, "Prosecutorial reform is not about seeking revenge against the prosecution or destroying its functions, but about separating the investigative and prosecutorial roles to ensure they operate optimally without being misused by the government."
President Lee emphasized the importance of distinguishing between public and private interests in all public duties, warning, "While I hope this is not the case, we must not allow personal interests to influence personnel decisions or specific investigations and prosecutions under the guise of prosecutorial reform."
He later reiterated that the current government's prosecutorial reform has advanced beyond the previous reform agenda.
President Lee noted, "Most advocates of prosecutorial reform, including the Justice Reform Party, have called for the establishment of a Serious Crime Investigation Agency within the Ministry of Justice and a separate prosecution agency." He also mentioned the proposal to grant supplementary investigation rights to the prosecution agency.
He stated, "This government has taken a step further by separating investigations and prosecutions into the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the prosecution agency, assigning them to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior and Safety, respectively." He added that the demand to revoke supplementary investigation rights, which contradicted the previous positions of these advocates, was also realized during this process.
President Lee assessed that the essence of prosecutorial reform, the separation of investigation and prosecution, has been completed to the extent that supplementary investigations are prohibited. He assured that concerns about the abuse of investigative powers by the police and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency would be addressed through internal controls, inspections, and reviews of non-prosecution cases.
The President's post included a reference to a social media post by a netizen that quoted past remarks from Kim Yong-min and Justice Reform Party leader Cho Kuk, who are categorized as hardliners on prosecutorial reform.
The post also featured a video of President Lee from an interview with former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Yoo Si-min in April 2025, where he stated, "Whether within the Ministry of Justice or elsewhere, the investigative and prosecutorial agencies must be separated," alongside a video of Yoo from September 2025, claiming he had never heard such statements regarding President Lee's prosecutorial reform.
In response, Kim Yong-min, who served as the ruling party's secretary on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee during last year's prosecutorial reform discussions and is still a member of the committee, publicly refuted the claims.
In a Facebook post, Kim stated, "I have never proposed placing the Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Justice or retaining supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors," emphasizing that the complete separation of investigation and prosecution and mutual checks are key to successful reform.
He explained that the prosecution agency law he first proposed in 2020 included only the right to request supplementary investigations, not the right to conduct them directly. He also clarified that the Serious Crime Investigation Agency law he proposed in 2021 was designed as an independent investigative body, not under the Ministry of Justice, and that he suggested placing it under the Prime Minister's Office in March 2025.
However, Kim acknowledged, "It is true that the prosecutorial reform under the Lee Jae-myung government has adopted the most reform-oriented proposals discussed so far," adding, "We must all work together to ensure that the system is effectively implemented in practice."
The Justice Reform Party also issued a statement through senior spokesperson Park Byeong-eon, refuting parts of President Lee's post as factually incorrect.
The party acknowledged that it had proposed legislation to establish the prosecution and Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Justice in 2024. However, it clarified that this was based on the premise of depoliticizing the Ministry of Justice, and that it officially changed its party stance to place the Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Interior and Safety after the change of government.
Regarding supplementary investigation rights, the party stated, "What the Justice Reform Party advocated was the right to request supplementary investigations, not the right to conduct them," asserting that it has not changed its position that supplementary investigation rights should be abolished in principle. While they discussed exceptional circumstances, such as approaching statutes of limitations or repeated refusals of supplementary investigation requests by the police, these were not reflected in the legislation.
On the same night, the Blue House issued a media notice to rebut the Justice Reform Party's claims.
The Blue House cited a statement made by Cho Kuk during a YouTube broadcast on August 29, 2025, when he was party leader, where he conditioned that "supplementary investigations must be recognized."
The Blue House emphasized, "The Justice Reform Party has acknowledged that it has changed the substantive content of its prosecutorial reform proposals based on reality and circumstances," and noted that the current position on supplementary investigation rights differs from that of 2025. It also highlighted that the party's stance on the Serious Crime Investigation Agency has shifted from being under the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, indicating that detailed designs have been adjusted according to the discussion process and changing circumstances.
Cho Kuk also acknowledged in July that he personally believes that prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights could be recognized in very limited circumstances, such as when statutes of limitations are approaching or when police repeatedly refuse to comply with supplementary investigation requests.
This dispute has arisen amid ongoing internal conflicts within the ruling party regarding the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as the first head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. President Lee has stated that labeling Kim as a "pro-Yoon prosecutor" is inaccurate, as the appointment process continues. However, some members of the Democratic Party and the Justice Reform Party continue to argue against Kim's qualifications based on his past opposition to prosecutorial reform.
The Blue House concluded, "President Lee's post reflects that the overarching goal and direction of the irreversible transformation of the prosecution organization has not changed since the presidential campaign. We request that rather than fixating on minor differences in prosecutorial reform, we work together to ensure that the already irreversible reforms can enhance the lives and livelihoods of the people."
The conflict began with a post by President Lee on the morning of October 5 regarding prosecutorial reform.
In his post, President Lee stated, "Prosecutorial reform is for the people, not to create a political legacy for specific individuals," adding, "It is wrong to undermine or belittle the efforts of others in order to monopolize the achievements made through collective effort."
He further explained, "Prosecutorial reform is not about seeking revenge against the prosecution or destroying its functions, but about separating the investigative and prosecutorial roles to ensure they operate optimally without being misused by the government."
President Lee emphasized the importance of distinguishing between public and private interests in all public duties, warning, "While I hope this is not the case, we must not allow personal interests to influence personnel decisions or specific investigations and prosecutions under the guise of prosecutorial reform."
He later reiterated that the current government's prosecutorial reform has advanced beyond the previous reform agenda.
President Lee noted, "Most advocates of prosecutorial reform, including the Justice Reform Party, have called for the establishment of a Serious Crime Investigation Agency within the Ministry of Justice and a separate prosecution agency." He also mentioned the proposal to grant supplementary investigation rights to the prosecution agency.
He stated, "This government has taken a step further by separating investigations and prosecutions into the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the prosecution agency, assigning them to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior and Safety, respectively." He added that the demand to revoke supplementary investigation rights, which contradicted the previous positions of these advocates, was also realized during this process.
President Lee assessed that the essence of prosecutorial reform, the separation of investigation and prosecution, has been completed to the extent that supplementary investigations are prohibited. He assured that concerns about the abuse of investigative powers by the police and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency would be addressed through internal controls, inspections, and reviews of non-prosecution cases.
The President's post included a reference to a social media post by a netizen that quoted past remarks from Kim Yong-min and Justice Reform Party leader Cho Kuk, who are categorized as hardliners on prosecutorial reform.
The post also featured a video of President Lee from an interview with former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Yoo Si-min in April 2025, where he stated, "Whether within the Ministry of Justice or elsewhere, the investigative and prosecutorial agencies must be separated," alongside a video of Yoo from September 2025, claiming he had never heard such statements regarding President Lee's prosecutorial reform.
In response, Kim Yong-min, who served as the ruling party's secretary on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee during last year's prosecutorial reform discussions and is still a member of the committee, publicly refuted the claims.
In a Facebook post, Kim stated, "I have never proposed placing the Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Justice or retaining supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors," emphasizing that the complete separation of investigation and prosecution and mutual checks are key to successful reform.
He explained that the prosecution agency law he first proposed in 2020 included only the right to request supplementary investigations, not the right to conduct them directly. He also clarified that the Serious Crime Investigation Agency law he proposed in 2021 was designed as an independent investigative body, not under the Ministry of Justice, and that he suggested placing it under the Prime Minister's Office in March 2025.
However, Kim acknowledged, "It is true that the prosecutorial reform under the Lee Jae-myung government has adopted the most reform-oriented proposals discussed so far," adding, "We must all work together to ensure that the system is effectively implemented in practice."
The Justice Reform Party also issued a statement through senior spokesperson Park Byeong-eon, refuting parts of President Lee's post as factually incorrect.
The party acknowledged that it had proposed legislation to establish the prosecution and Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Justice in 2024. However, it clarified that this was based on the premise of depoliticizing the Ministry of Justice, and that it officially changed its party stance to place the Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Interior and Safety after the change of government.
Regarding supplementary investigation rights, the party stated, "What the Justice Reform Party advocated was the right to request supplementary investigations, not the right to conduct them," asserting that it has not changed its position that supplementary investigation rights should be abolished in principle. While they discussed exceptional circumstances, such as approaching statutes of limitations or repeated refusals of supplementary investigation requests by the police, these were not reflected in the legislation.
On the same night, the Blue House issued a media notice to rebut the Justice Reform Party's claims.
The Blue House cited a statement made by Cho Kuk during a YouTube broadcast on August 29, 2025, when he was party leader, where he conditioned that "supplementary investigations must be recognized."
The Blue House emphasized, "The Justice Reform Party has acknowledged that it has changed the substantive content of its prosecutorial reform proposals based on reality and circumstances," and noted that the current position on supplementary investigation rights differs from that of 2025. It also highlighted that the party's stance on the Serious Crime Investigation Agency has shifted from being under the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, indicating that detailed designs have been adjusted according to the discussion process and changing circumstances.
Cho Kuk also acknowledged in July that he personally believes that prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights could be recognized in very limited circumstances, such as when statutes of limitations are approaching or when police repeatedly refuse to comply with supplementary investigation requests.
This dispute has arisen amid ongoing internal conflicts within the ruling party regarding the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as the first head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. President Lee has stated that labeling Kim as a "pro-Yoon prosecutor" is inaccurate, as the appointment process continues. However, some members of the Democratic Party and the Justice Reform Party continue to argue against Kim's qualifications based on his past opposition to prosecutorial reform.
The Blue House concluded, "President Lee's post reflects that the overarching goal and direction of the irreversible transformation of the prosecution organization has not changed since the presidential campaign. We request that rather than fixating on minor differences in prosecutorial reform, we work together to ensure that the already irreversible reforms can enhance the lives and livelihoods of the people."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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