Kim Seung-won on Dismissal of Indictment: 'No Authority and No Intention to Direct'

[Anchor]

Amid various controversies, Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won made his first commute to the confirmation hearing preparation office. Nominee Kim Seung-won emphasized that he has no authority to dismiss the indictment regarding President Lee Jae-myung's case, and denied all allegations against him.

Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won shared his thoughts on his nomination upon arriving at the confirmation hearing preparation office for the first time.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice]: "As a new criminal justice system is being implemented for the first time in 70 years, I carry an important sense of mission to ensure it settles in smoothly without causing inconvenience to the public."

Regarding past stances suggesting that the indictment against President Lee Jae-myung should be dismissed, Nominee Kim stated first, "As the Minister of Justice nominee, I will follow the law and principles."

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice]: "Not only do I not have the direct authority as the Minister of Justice to dismiss the indictment, but I also have no intention at this time to direct such an action through the Prosecutor General."

Nominee Kim previously served as a co-representative in a group of lawmakers advocating for the dismissal of the indictment in President Lee's case.

Addressing his past strong assertions that the indictment in the president's case should be dropped, he claimed today (the 3rd), "I was conveying the public's stance that cases fabricated through illegal investigations must have their wrongs corrected by the state."

Regarding suspicions that he lobbied the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in the past to fast-track clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment, Nominee Kim reiterated that "even the prosecution's suspension of indictment decision was unfair," adding that he will clear his name through a constitutional petition.

In response to allegations raised by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon that the judge who reviewed the warrant for this case had personal ties to Nominee Kim, he replied, "It was disposed of as non-prosecution in accordance with relevant conclusions, as there were no illicit solicitations or favors provided."

As for his past record of defending perpetrators of sex crimes against minors, he apologized, saying, "I humbly reflect on the aspects that did not meet the public's expectations."

(Camera: Yang Hyun-chul | Video Editing: Lee Seung-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.