Kim Seung-won Chokes Up During Hearing as Rival Parties Clash Over 'Vipers' vs. 'Double Standards'

[Anchor]

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won shed tears while explaining allegations of preferential treatment involving a developmental disability cooperative where his wife and son work. The People Power Party criticized it as "crocodile tears," while the Democratic Party hit back, calling the opposition "like vipers." Nominee Kim also addressed the issue of dismissing charges in cases involving President Lee Jae-myung, stating, "I will act in accordance with due process."

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon reports.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party pressed Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, arguing that while he had previously said the justice minister should direct the dismissal of charges in cases related to President Lee Jae-myung, he changed his words after being nominated by saying the minister has no direct authority, demanding to know what his true stance was.

[Park Hyung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Do you have no intention of directing the dismissal of charges? Do you believe that dismissing the charges is the right thing to do?"]

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: "The exercise of state power must be carried out in the cleanest, procedurally proper, and fair manner..."]

Nominee Kim also stated that even if a special counsel bill regarding allegations of fabricated indictments passes, he opposes granting the special counsel the authority to drop charges.

Allegations were raised alongside an audio recording of his wife that a "family salary feast" was taking place at the cooperative where Kim's wife and child work, and that the cooperative had collusive ties with the local government in charge, but Kim refuted the claims as completely groundless.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "The assets of candidate Kim Seung-won's family also keep growing. Look at the growth rate. Is this Samsung Electronics?"]

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: "Lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, try having your son work at a development center. See if he can last a week or two."]

Kim choked up while talking about his son, explaining that the cooperative was established by parents of children with developmental disabilities.

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: "(My wife said she thought of my son as) someone to whom she could trust and leave these children (with developmental disabilities) when she loses her strength or passes away later on."]

The opposition responded that it was "crocodile tears," while the ruling party launched a counterattack against the opposition lawmakers who raised the allegations.

[Park Jie-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Yoon Suk Yeol, Han Dong-hoon, and Joo Jin-woo are the three bad prosecutors. They are people like vipers."]

Past remarks made by nominee Kim, who has a prior criminal record for drunk driving, also came under scrutiny.

[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party Lawmaker: "You told the president of the Korean Bar Association that disciplinary actions against lawyers for unlawful acts such as drunk driving were too weak. Aren't you truly the 'king of double standards'?"]

At the hearing room today (September 15), not a single witness or reference witness was present due to the ruling party's refusal.

Perhaps for that reason, observers noted that the proceedings devolved into partisan bickering between the rival parties rather than uncovering the truth behind the allegations.

(Video by Oh Young-choon and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Lee Seung-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.