Kim Seung-won Refutes Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Lobbying Allegations, Challenges Han Dong-hoon to Prove Claims at Hearing

[Anchor]

Nominee for Minister of Justice Kim Seung-won, who has been embroiled in various suspicions including alleged lobbying of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, has spoken out directly to state his position after four days. While admitting that he should have been more cautious in the process of conveying complaints, he maintained that he had never made illegal solicitations. Aiming at lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who raised the suspicions, Kim demanded that Han appear as a witness at the confirmation hearing to prove his assertions.

This is a report by reporter Shin Yong-il.

[Reporter]

Nominee Kim Seung-won directly addressed the various suspicions raised as he arrived at the confirmation preparation office in Jeokseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, this morning (September 7).

This is the first time he has stood before reporters in four days since September 3.

First, regarding the suspicion of lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) concerning the approval of a COVID-19 treatment, Nominee Kim stated that he should have acted with greater caution.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice: I take it heavily that I should have handled the process of conveying complaints regarding this COVID-19 clinical approval with much more caution.]

At the same time, he emphasized that he had never made unlawful solicitations to the MFDS. He claimed that his request to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety was intended to ensure prompt processing so that approval procedures would not be delayed, based on information that multinational companies were obstructing the development of treatments by domestic pharmaceutical firms at the time.

He also stressed that the MFDS's review was not conducted unfairly, noting that this is explicitly stated in the prosecution's non-indictment decision document.

Regarding independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has been raising these suspicions, Kim criticized it as a "classic example of prosecution cabinet politics" and demanded that Han personally appear as a witness at the hearing.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice: Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon should this time appear as a witness at the hearing and take responsibility for what he has said.]

In response, lawmaker Han posted on Facebook requesting the Speaker of the National Assembly to appoint him as a member of the confirmation hearing committee.

Furthermore, regarding the controversy over salary payments at the developmental disability care center where his spouse and children worked, Nominee Kim refuted claims of preferential treatment, stating that they had actually performed their duties. As for failing to report his past drunk driving record to the party's nomination screening committee during the 22nd general election, he replied, "I understood that records under 1 million won are not listed on criminal records at all."

(Photo: Yang Hyun-chul, Video Editing: Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.