The camp of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won issued a statement today (Sept. 6) to refute the additional disclosures made by Representative Han Dong-hoon regarding allegations that Kim solicited the approval of clinical trials for a new drug.
Representative Han, who previously released what he claimed to be a phone conversation between nominee Kim and a person surnamed Yang from February 2022, posted on his social media this morning, stating, "They seem to be claiming that just two text messages soliciting favors were all there was, which is a lie," and went on to release an additional recording of a phone call from October 12, 2021.
In the recording, when Yang says, "The officials are passing the buck, and it's said that it cannot be resolved at the section chief level," Kim responds, "Blocked at the section chief level? Got it."
Representative Han argued that this constitutes circumstantial evidence of interference in the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's clinical trial approval process.
The preparation team countered that the context before and after this segment had been cut out.
They stated that the part where Yang explained prior to this, saying, "It doesn't matter even if it is delayed, but since we need to know the reason, please look into it," explaining that the review was being delayed due to officials dodging responsibility, was not made public.
The preparation team explained that nominee Kim "merely answered that he would look into the reason."
They reiterated that what the nominee asked of the Minister of Food and Drug Safety was not approval, but a check and report on the review status.
The preparation team also stated that nominee Kim never directly contacted the working-level staff at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
The prosecution that investigated the case concluded that nominee Kim was suspected of mediation bribery, but considering that no actual money or valuables were transferred, issued a suspension of indictment in December 2024.
However, it was reported that it is difficult to conclusively determine the illegality of the solicitation itself, and no preferential treatment or procedural violations were found during the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's review process.
Nominee Kim is scheduled to answer questions from reporters on his way to work at the confirmation hearing preparation office at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 7.
This is expected to be an occasion where nominee Kim directly addresses the successive allegations raised since his first day of work on the 3rd.
Reported by Yeo Hyeon-gyo | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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