"No Intention to Direct Dismissal of Indictment"... Denies 'Solicitation Allegations'

[Anchor]

Lawmaker Kim Seung-won of the Democratic Party, nominated as the Minister of Justice, stated regarding the dismissal of the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case that the Minister of Justice has no direct authority and that he has no intention of issuing directives through the Prosecutor General. He also denied all allegations surrounding him, including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety solicitation case.

For our first story, reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Four days after being nominated as the Minister of Justice, Democratic Party Lawmaker Kim Seung-won stood before reporters upon his first commute to the personnel hearing preparation office.

Nominee Kim first shared his aspirations with a month remaining until the implementation of the new criminal justice system.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice: A new criminal justice system is being implemented for the first time in 70 years, and I hold a vital sense of mission to successfully settle it. I will make efforts to ensure that judicial justice and fairness are realized.]

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

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice (February 12): (The prosecution) should voluntarily dismiss the indictment, and that is only natural in a civilized nation, but are they not doing so now?]

When asked if his stance remained unchanged, he replied that the minister has no authority and that the decision must be made by the trial prosecutor who holds the authority.

[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 of directing it through the Prosecutor General.]

He expressed his position that his receipt of a suspension of indictment after asking the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to expedite clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment was unfair.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice: An exhaustive investigation was conducted, but because they issued a suspension of indictment, I think that is also unfair, which is why I filed a constitutional complaint against the suspension of indictment last year....]

Nominee Kim's camp emphasized, "It was a simple delivery of a public-interest grievance, not a solicitation for treatment approval," adding that no manual violations were confirmed during the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety review process.

Regarding his past record of representing sex offenders, he expressed an apology while noting that there were cases where he had no substantial involvement and others he took on according to his usual beliefs.

[Kim Seung-won / Nominee for Minister of Justice: Regarding aspects that did not meet the public's expectations, I humbly reflect...]

Despite these explanations, controversies surrounding various suspicions involving Nominee Kim have not subsided, suggesting a rough confirmation hearing process ahead.

(Video filming: Yang Hyun-chul | Video editing: Lee Seung-hee | Design: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.