Nominee Kim Seung-won Sidesteps Question on Dropping Indictment, Sparks Opposition Backlash

[Anchor]

"I will direct the prosecution to perform its duties while maintaining neutrality." This was the response from Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won when asked whether he would consider ordering the withdrawal of the indictment in cases involving President Lee Jae-myung. Conservative opposition parties are pushing back against the ambiguous response, arguing it effectively signals an intention to order the dropping of the charges.

Here is a report from Park Chan-beom.

[Reporter]

This is the written response submitted by Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won to the National Assembly today (September 12).

In response to a query asking whether he intends to instruct the Ministry of Justice, the prosecution, or the prosecution service office to review whether to withdraw the indictments in criminal cases related to President Lee Jae-myung, he replied, "I will thoroughly direct and supervise so that the prosecution can fairly perform its duties while maintaining political neutrality."

This tone differs from what Nominee Kim said on his way to work for the first time on the 3rd of this month following his nomination.

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee (on the 3rd) : (Directing the withdrawal of the indictment) through the Prosecutor General, I currently have no such intention.]

When asked if he intends to recuse himself from duties related to President Lee's criminal cases, Nominee Kim also replied, "I will make a judgment in accordance with laws and regulations."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon pointed out, "Instead of saying no to the question about dropping the indictment, he gave an irrelevant answer," while the People Power Party criticized that the presidential office's move to push through Kim's appointment is tied to the withdrawal of the indictments.

[Park Sung-hoon / Chief Spokesperson of the People Power Party : Ultimately, I think they needed a enforcer, a Justice Minister who would take the lead in resolving their own dropped indictments.]

The Democratic Party is shielding Nominee Kim and aiming to turn the tables.

They went on the offensive, demanding an investigation into how lawmaker Han Dong-hoon obtained internal prosecution documents, such as indictment plans related to the alleged Ministry of Food and Drug Safety solicitation case.

[Cho Gye-won / Spokesperson of the Democratic Party : The right place for lawmaker Han Dong-hoon is the police interrogation room. Reveal from whom you received the data.]

The police plan to question Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-ah, who filed a complaint against lawmaker Han for alleged leakage of official secrets, tomorrow.

(Video reporting: Kim Yong-woo, Video editing: Won Hyung-hee, Design: Bang Min-ju)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.