Source: Seoul Shinmun · 정치

What happened

According to Seoul Shinmun, Kim Seung-won, a Democratic Party lawmaker nominated as the second Justice Minister under President Lee Jae-myung, told the National Assembly on Aug. 31 that his most urgent duty is to help a 70-year overhaul of Korea’s criminal justice system take root. Kim faces a confirmation hearing with two heavy tests at once: delivering the new standalone prosecution service and managing political heat over President Lee’s possible prosecution cancellation.

The breakdown

Seoul Shinmun reports that Kim’s hearing prep office is likely to open in Jeokseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, with the ministry’s planning chief typically leading the team. The new prosecution service is due in roughly one month, but its organizational chart is still unsettled. Kim has pushed to abolish prosecutors’ supplementary investigation power entirely — shrinking ministry and prosecution ranks and leaving staff anxious about posts and transfers.

One active prosecutor told the paper that large-scale personnel moves are inevitable after launch, making day-to-day work awkward now. Kim must also navigate President Lee’s criminal case. He co-led a council pushing to cancel the president’s prosecution; Seoul Shinmun says he is most likely to act on Prosecution Future Committee recommendations, though that path is expected to draw fierce resistance. Critics warn of a “self-pardon” narrative and neutrality questions.

Floor leader Han Byung-do said on Aug. 31 that pre-hearing attacks turn confirmation into a political brawl. The People Power Party countered that Lee is installing his personal lawyer. Leader Jang Dong-hyuk said Kim led a prosecution-cancellation special-prosecutor bill and a breach-of-trust repeal push, arguing the government will “go all-in on canceling trials” despite public opposition.

Separately, Kim issued a statement rebutting claims that he was a defense lawyer in the Daejang-dong scandal. He confirmed his name appeared on the defense team in a 2015 Attorneys Act violation case involving lawyer Nam Wook, but said he attended only one early consultation at his firm’s request and resigned from the defense team in July 2015.

Why it matters outside Korea

Foreign companies, investors, and expat professionals track who runs the Justice Ministry because it shapes anti-corruption enforcement, cross-border fraud probes, and handling of politically sensitive cases. A minister tied to prosecution-cancellation politics signals whether rule-of-law fights stay in courtrooms or shift toward executive discretion — affecting compliance risk and diplomatic trust.

What travelers and expats should watch

• Do not treat the prosecution service launch as finished policy. With about one month left and no finalized organizational chart, expect procedural delays, office reshuffles, and uneven service at ministry and prosecution counters through the autumn transition.
• If you follow visa, fraud, or business-crime news, watch hearing dates and floor votes, not only press statements. Kim’s confirmation fight will preview whether the government can pass personnel and legal changes without freezing day-to-day casework.
• Separate the Daejang-dong defense rumor from the 2015 Nam Wook case. Kim’s published clarification limits his role to a single early consultation and a July 2015 withdrawal — useful context if local headlines recycle older labels during the hearing.

Context

Read this as a reform-speed nomination colliding with a presidential legal liability fight, not as proof that Korea’s new prosecution service will launch smoothly on day one or that President Lee’s case will be canceled on a fixed timetable. The non-wire insight: Kim is being measured on whether he can stand up a new institution while prosecutors inside the building already expect mass transfers — and rivals are trying to define him first as the president’s cancellation lawyer rather than as an architect of a 70-year system reset.

Source

Seoul Shinmun: 김승원 “새 사법체계 안착”… ‘대장동 변호’ 논란엔 정면 반박 — Korean original; paraphrased for briefing; read the original for full detail.