Law Minister Nominee Who Led Impeachment-Cancellation Group Set to Drive Criminal Justice Overhaul

President Lee Jae-myung has chosen Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won to lead South Korea’s next phase of prosecution reform, placing a close political ally at the center of a far-reaching criminal justice overhaul.

Kim is expected to direct changes to a system facing its first comprehensive transformation in 78 years. The planned reforms would abolish prosecutors’ investigative powers and continue discussions on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, which Kim helped lead as a lawmaker.

The appointment comes as concerns grow that fully removing prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority could backfire when police investigations are inadequate. Dong-A Ilbo cited the Jang Yoon-gi case and a missing-person case in Jeju as examples raised in that debate.

Kim also served as co-chair of a lawmakers’ group pursuing the cancellation of President Lee’s criminal indictment and a parliamentary investigation. His nomination follows the return to the Democratic Party of Chung Sung-ho, described as a senior Lee ally, after Chung stepped down from the ministry despite Lee’s efforts to dissuade him.

Through the Justice Ministry, Kim said South Korea faces a “major transformation of the criminal justice system that has continued for 70 years.” The nomination therefore gives a central Lee ally responsibility for carrying forward the government’s prosecution reform agenda.

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South Korea is facing a major transformation of the criminal justice system that has continued for 70 years.