"Drunk Driving Record Not Submitted to General Election Nomination Screening Committee"

[Anchor]

Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won, who is embroiled in allegations regarding lobbying for the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, is also facing criticism over a past drunk driving case in which he received a fine. However, it has been confirmed that this drunk driving criminal record was not submitted to the Democratic Party's nomination screening process during the 2024 general election.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the details.

[Reporter]

Ahead of the 22nd general election, the Democratic Party's Public Office Election Candidate Screening Committee promised a more thorough evaluation than ever before.

[Kim Byung-kee / Chairman of the Democratic Party Candidate Screening Committee (November 16, 2023): Through fair and resolute screening, we will verify candidates more strictly and thoroughly than in any other election.]

When applicants applied for preliminary candidacy, they were strictly instructed to attach "details on all criminal and investigative records," specifying that they must "include everything, ranging from crimes carrying fines of 1 million won or less to non-prosecution dispositions."

The committee even provided a checklist, notifying candidates that "even if a long time has passed, all rulings or summary order documents must be attached."

At the time, one preliminary candidate explained, "Because the party explicitly instructed us to submit them, I went directly to the court to obtain and submit the ruling for a 1990s drunk driving fine."

However, according to SBS reporting, nominee Kim, who was a freshman lawmaker at the time, did not submit related materials such as the 2008 ruling where he was fined 700,000 won for drunk driving to the Democratic Party's screening committee.

While nominee Kim had been caught for drunk driving only once—meaning he did not fall under the Democratic Party's disqualification criteria for nomination regarding drunk driving—the screening itself could not take place because the documents related to the drunk driving were not submitted in the first place.

Regarding the suspicion that the relevant documents were not submitted, nominee Kim's side stated, "As we were busy preparing for the election campaign, the staff handled the preparation of documents related to the nomination, so we do not know the exact details," adding, "We understand that all documents requested by the party were submitted in a manner that did not violate laws and regulations."

(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: Lee Seung-jin, Design: Han Heung-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.