Lee ramps up policy drive with live briefings

Dec 15, 2025, 10:15 am

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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a policy briefing by the Ministry of Education, the National Education Commission and the Ministry of Government Legislation at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong on Dec. 12. / Source: Yonhap News

The People Power Party (PPP) and the New Reform Party are showing rare coordination over the introduction of a special prosecutor to investigate alleged political lobbying and illicit donations linked to the Unification Church, raising questions about whether broader cooperation could emerge ahead of next June’s local elections.

According to political sources on Dec. 14, the two parties’ floor leaderships are expected to hold formal talks on a special prosecutor bill aimed at uncovering the truth behind allegations involving Unification Church political funding and lobbying. Once a draft bill being prepared by New Reform Party floor leader Chun Ha-ram takes shape, the two sides plan to exchange views on the scope and structure of the legislation. It marks the first time since the New Reform Party’s launch that the leaderships of the two parties have aligned publicly on the same issue.

Both parties share concerns that the Unification Church allegations could extend beyond isolated cases and ripple across the political establishment. With ongoing controversy surrounding the independence and fairness of existing investigations, the PPP argues that a parliamentary-level institutional response has become unavoidable.

Within the PPP, some lawmakers have begun referring to the case as a potential “Unification Church gate,” warning that further revelations about ties between the church and political figures could significantly affect the broader political landscape. The New Reform Party has likewise maintained that police investigations alone are insufficient to uncover the full truth, repeatedly calling for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor.

The PPP has also raised concerns about the impartiality of the current probe. At a press briefing, PPP floor leader Song Eon-seok said that Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki had delayed investigating allegations involving current and former Democratic Party lawmakers and government officials, despite being aware of them. He argued that not only the Unification Church allegations but also the fairness of the special prosecutor’s investigation itself should be examined.

Song added that PPP-affiliated figures should not be exempt from scrutiny, a remark widely seen as an attempt to preempt accusations of pushing a “shielding probe” designed to protect its own members.

The emerging cooperation has drawn attention given the two parties’ historically uneasy relationship. Differences over former President Yoon Suk Yeol and other key political issues have often kept them at arm’s length. Recently, however, overlapping criticism of the current administration appears to have created common ground, with the Unification Church probe serving as a key point of convergence.

With the abolition of prosecutors’ offices set for next year, concerns are growing over a potential investigative vacuum in technology-leak cases. While regulations to protect national core technologies are tightening, critics warn that specialized manpower and know-how could be lost during the transition to the Major Crimes Investigation Agency (MCIA), undermining enforcement capacity. Prosecutors have built expertise through dedicated units and active participation in trials.

On Dec. 15, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said 92 people were indicted from January through November this year for violations of the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology. That is more than five times the 17 suspects indicted in 2020. Data submitted to the National Assembly by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in September showed 33 cases involving national core technologies and 110 cases involving industrial technologies were leaked overseas between 2020 and June this year, with estimated damages totaling 23.27 trillion won.

The National Assembly is moving to toughen penalties, treating technology-leak crimes as a national security issue. A Criminal Act amendment bill that passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Dec. 3 expands the scope of espionage from “enemy states” to foreign countries or equivalent entities. It also allows the espionage charge to apply when “national core technologies” are leaked at the direction or instigation of a foreign party, paving the way for harsher punishment for industrial spies targeting semiconductors and defense technologies.

The concern is that investigative capacity could weaken as the system shifts to the MCIA and a separate prosecution office. Prosecutors have operated specialized units for years—such as the SPO’s Scientific Investigation Division, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office’s Information Technology Crime Investigation Division, the Suwon office’s Industrial Technology Crime Investigation Division, and the Daejeon office’s Patent Crime Investigation Division—staffing them long-term with patent attorneys and experts in communications, computing and engineering.

A prosecutor currently handling technology-leak cases said such investigations “are fundamentally team-based,” adding that “the heart of the probe is the accumulated organizational experience built by reviewing everything from National Intelligence Service intelligence leads to corporate process structures and patent disputes.”

Prosecutors in these cases typically continue on to handle trial proceedings after indictment, presenting in court the evidence and legal reasoning developed during the investigation. That process, officials say, helps build know-how on what evidence is needed and how laws should be interpreted and applied.

In a case involving a former Samsung Electronics executive who was indicted in detention in October for allegedly leaking DRAM manufacturing technology to a Chinese firm, one prosecutor, three investigators and one staff member are in charge of maintaining the prosecution. A Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office official said new comparison technologies are often introduced during trials, and core issues such as whether information qualifies as a trade secret or advanced technology are frequently contested. “For effective courtroom responses and solid maintenance of the indictment, the investigative prosecutor’s on-the-ground judgment is necessary,” the official said.

President Lee Jae-myung has intensified his year-end governance push by conducting live-streamed work briefings with government ministries, delivering pointed criticism over corporate misconduct, drug enforcement failures and delays in supporting victims of rental fraud.

In an unprecedented move, Lee ordered real-time broadcasts of ministerial briefings, using the platform to issue a stern warning to e-commerce giant Coupang following a massive personal data breach. “When companies violate regulations and cause harm to the public, sanctions should be so severe that they think, ‘the company could go under,’” Lee said.

He also rebuked the Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for failing to promptly implement instructions related to drug crackdowns and assistance for rental fraud victims. “Saying you cannot act due to a lack of personnel or budget simply does not make sense,” Lee said, sending a clear signal to the civil service.

According to the presidential office on Dec. 14, Lee is scheduled to receive work reports from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Dec. 16; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Dec. 17; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice on Dec. 18. Earlier, he received reports from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the transport, education and science ministries on Dec. 11 and 12.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun said the briefings were designed to accelerate policy execution six months into the Lee administration and to present the government’s policy blueprint directly to the public through live broadcasts, a first in South Korea’s history. Kim said Lee emphasized “accountable administration,” “fair governance” and “active policymaking” during last week’s sessions.

During a briefing by the transport ministry, Lee instructed officials to review a plan under which the government would first compensate rental fraud victims for part of their deposits and later exercise its right of recourse, stressing that the commitment had already been made publicly. He made clear that administrative delays caused by budget or staffing constraints would not be tolerated.

At briefings by the labor ministry and the National Tax Service, Lee ordered measures to reduce discrimination between regular and non-regular workers and to close legal loopholes that allow assets seized through fraudulent mortgages to remain unusable for life.

Lee also criticized the Ministry of Science and ICT for what he described as an excessively high success rate in government-funded research and development, calling it a “bureaucrat-friendly evaluation system” that discourages long-term, high-risk research typically difficult for the private sector to pursue.

Highlighting regional imbalance and widening inequality as major fairness issues, Lee urged officials to prioritize balanced regional development and polarization when designing fiscal and tax policies, Kim said.

Meanwhile, Kim clarified that Lee’s reference to Hwandan Gogi during a briefing by the Northeast Asian History Foundation did not mean he endorsed the text or ordered any related research. Lee’s description of the text—widely regarded by mainstream historians as a forgery—as a “document” has drawn criticism from opposition figures. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the New Reform Party, wrote on Facebook, “After a president who believes in election fraud, now one who believes in Hwandan Gogi—the country is worrying.”

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