Appellate Court to Deliver Ruling Today on Breach of Trust Charges Against Genencel Founder Tied to Kim Seung-won Lobbying Allegations

The appellate court ruling will be delivered today (the 30th) on the breach of trust charges against Professor Kang, the founder of Genencel, who is implicated in allegations that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won—who was nominated as Minister of Justice before withdrawing—lobbied for the rapid approval of COVID-19 clinical trials.

The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Koo Hoi-geun) will hold the sentencing trial for Professor Kang, who faces charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (Breach of Trust), at 2 p.m. today.

Kang was put on trial on charges of obtaining a patent from the Korean Intellectual Property Office and clinical trial approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety by submitting false data that misrepresented hamster test results and intentionally omitted side effects during the development of a COVID-19 treatment.

Previously, the first-instance court found Kang guilty of submitting false experimental data and passing on undisclosed material information to a businessman surnamed Yang, causing approximately 600 million won in losses to the company, and sentenced him to three years in prison suspended for five years.

However, the court acquitted him of breach of trust charges involving approximately 1 billion won, citing unlawfully collected evidence.

It also acquitted him of violating the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Concealment of Proceeds of Crime, ruling that the 600 million won investment funds provided to Yang could not be definitively concluded as a reward for clinical trial approval.

Kang has also been indicted—and is undergoing separate trials at the Seoul Western District Court—on charges including promising to offer bribes, having agreed with Yang to ask lawmaker Kim to expedite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's approval of the clinical trial plan while offering to provide 5 million won in political donations.

Lawmaker Kim was previously targeted by a prosecution investigation. While the Seoul Western Prosecutors' Office acknowledged the charge that Kim agreed to receive 5 million won in political donations in exchange for mediation, it issued a suspension of indictment in December 2024, stating that "it is difficult to conclude that the lobbying request itself was illegal."

Afterward, as Kim was nominated for Minister of Justice and the suspicions were reexamined, successive complaints were filed, and the case is currently assigned to the Yeongdeungpo Police Station.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.