[Anchor]
On the 15th, the day the National Assembly holds its confirmation hearing for nominee Kim Seung-won, a court trial will also take place for businessman Yang, a key figure in the alleged Ministry of Food and Drug Safety lobbying, and Genencel founder Kang Se-chan. Next Tuesday is expected to be a major turning point for these suspicions.
Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has more.
[Reporter]
On the 15th, the National Assembly will hold a confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, while the Seoul Western District Court will hold trials for nominee Kim's close junior, businessman Yang, and Genencel founder Kang Se-chan, who are key figures in the alleged MFDS lobbying case.
According to the prosecution's indictment, Yang and Kang face charges of promising to offer a bribe. They allegedly lobbied nominee Kim for favors, including prompt review and approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding clinical trial plans for a new drug, and promised to send a 5 million won political donation.
Although the actual funds were not delivered because nominee Kim's donation limit had been reached, the prosecution maintains that the crime is established because quid pro quo valuables were promised.
On the other hand, nominee Kim received a suspension of indictment in December 2024, citing the difficulty in concluding the lobbying was illegal and the fact that no actual money or valuables were exchanged.
In June, nominee Kim appeared as a witness in the two individuals' trial. During the trial on the 15th, final statements from Kang and Yang, as well as the prosecution's sentencing recommendations, will take place.
Because the court's ruling on the charge of promising to offer a bribe could heavily influence the persuasiveness of nominee Kim's claim that it was merely a delivery of a grievance petition, the trial is drawing as much attention as the hearing.
Regarding the 600 million won that Yang received from Kang after the approval, the prosecution views it as compensation for lobbying through nominee Kim. Meanwhile, Yang's side claims there was no quid pro quo and it was unrelated to lobbying because they were in a romantic relationship with Kang.
Kang maintains that the 600 million won was a legitimate investment into Yang's business and that they were not in a romantic relationship with Yang.
Meanwhile, regarding the public interest whistleblower who first reported the suspicions to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and other entities, the Democratic Party launched an offensive by mentioning the whistleblower's background. In response, the conservative opposition criticized this as an atrocity that effectively exposed the whistleblower's identity.
[Park Sun-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Who is Cho, who claims to be a public interest whistleblower? This is a figure who not only demanded a personal relationship with businessman Yang, but also flaunted close ties with the People Power Party.]
[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker: Do not bare your teeth and tear into public interest whistleblowers and such individuals. Tear into me instead. I will pull out every single one of those teeth.]
The personnel verification for nominee Kim is unfolding across multiple fronts, centering around the alleged MFDS lobbying through confirmation hearings, trials, and battles over the whistleblower.
(Photo: Lee Seung-hwan, Video Editing: So Ji-hye, Design: Hwang Se-yeon)
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