Exclusive: Son of Judge in 'Three-Way Selfie' Found Working in Lawmaker Kim Seung-won's Office

[Anchor]

According to SBS reporting, the son of the judge who dismissed the arrest warrant for Genencell founder Kang Se-chan in late 2023 was later hired at the office of then-Lawmaker Kim Seung-won. This is the same judge who appeared in a photo alongside Candidate Kim and a businessman identified as a broker, a Mr. Yang. This directly contradicts Candidate Kim's previous explanation that he had never contacted the judge after the photo was taken in February 2022.

This is an exclusive report by reporter Shin Yong-il.

[Reporter]

In December 2023, the arrest warrant requested for Genencell founder Kang Se-chan on charges including attempted fraud was dismissed.

The warrant judge in charge of the review at the time was Senior Judge Jeong from the Seoul Western District Court. A photo of him taken alongside Candidate Kim and businessman Yang on February 3 was recently made public.

In response, Candidate Kim stated that he had coincidentally run into Judge Jeong and Mr. Yang at a private gathering in February 2022 and had neither met nor contacted them since.

However, SBS reporting confirmed that Judge Jeong's college student son worked as a legislative assistant in the office of Candidate Kim, who was a lawmaker at the time, during the first half of 2024.

The son was hired at Candidate Kim's office several months after Judge Jeong dismissed the warrant, a detail that directly contradicts the explanation Candidate Kim provided immediately after the photo was made public.

When asked by SBS about any connection between the dismissal of Genencell founder Kang's warrant and the employment of Judge Jeong's son, Candidate Kim's side stated, "Judge Jeong's son experienced office work as a legislative assistant following the standard procedures for a lawmaker's activities, and it was not even an official position." They added that it is "clear that no causal relationship is recognized between the warrant dismissal and the legislative assistant work, and claims suggesting a reward are unfounded."

Regarding the criticism that this conflicts with the explanation given after the photo was released, they explained, "It was a misunderstanding caused by insufficient communication due to the candidate's personal circumstances, and there has never been any fact of communicating or discussing specific cases with Judge Jeong."

(Photojournalist: Yang Hyun-chul | Video Editor: Kim Jun-hee | Designer: Jeon Yu-keun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.