A Suspension of Indictment Is Not an Acquittal, but...

Controversy surrounding Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won is growing increasingly heated, with Representative Han Dong-hoon taking the lead in fueling allegations. The allegations center on Kim improperly intervening in the clinical trial approval process for a pharmaceutical company developing a new COVID-19 treatment. The suspicions surfaced as the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office investigated Genencell, which had embarked on developing a COVID-19 treatment, over allegations of fraudulent clinical trials. In early October 2021, an individual surnamed Kang, the largest shareholder of Genencell, asked an individual surnamed Yang, who had extensive connections in political circles, to help expedite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's approval for the Phase 2 and 3 clinical trial plan for the treatment under development. At the time, Genencell was in the process of attracting over 10 billion won in investment, making swift clinical trial approval critical. Yang conveyed the request to nominee Kim, with whom Yang had a prior acquaintance. On October 12, 2021, Kim called Kim Gang-lip, the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety at the time, asking for expedited processing, and exchanged text messages regarding the matter. Two weeks later, the ministry approved Genencell's clinical trial plan.

The problem is that this clinical trial approval was based on falsified data. The prosecution's investigation and the first-instance court ruling found that Genencell had never succeeded in animal testing. Moreover, the court determined that laboratory animals had died from severe side effects, a fact that the company concealed. Accordingly, the first-instance court sentenced Kang to three years in prison, suspended for five years.

Prosecutors also detected circumstances suggesting that nominee Kim attempted to receive a 5-million-won political donation from Kang. The allegation is that Kim requested a donation through Yang and provided a bank account number. Kang reportedly attempted to transfer 5 million won to the account, but the transfer did not go through as the legal donation limit had already been reached. Prosecutors explained that while they acknowledged that the constituent elements of offenses such as promising to receive bribes for mediation were met, they decided on a suspension of indictment in consideration of factors including the fact that no actual money changed hands and that it was not clear whether official duties were distorted, as the ministry's review proceeded according to procedures and internal regulations.

  A suspension of indictment is a conclusion that while the suspected criminal facts are recognized, they do not warrant formal prosecution or punishment. This differs from a non-indictment with a finding of "no charges" due to insufficient evidence or lack of a crime, which effectively amounts to innocence. Therefore, the claim that "receiving a suspension of indictment is practically an acquittal" does not align with legal definitions. However, nominee Kim has filed a constitutional complaint challenging the suspension of indictment.

Criticisms regarding morality are even more damaging. A lawmaker's normal "forwarding of public civil petitions" presupposes public interest purposes and procedural legitimacy, rather than specific private interests. However, the disclosed social media conversations, transcripts, and surrounding circumstances point in a different direction. They confirm that a special personal acquaintance with Yang and the massive financial interests of the pharmaceutical company were intertwined. The act of nominee Kim directly contacting the head of the food and drug safety ministry upon the request of a "close junior acquaintance" to demand swift processing can hardly avoid criticism that it was an "expedited solicitation" rather than "public communication." Indeed, among the disclosed conversations, there are parts that could be seen as crossing moral and legal boundaries.
 
In fact, it was revealed that the secretary to the food and drug safety minister at the time sent a message to the director of the clinical trial policy division stating, "Representative Kim Seung-won sent a separate text message. The minister wants this looked into, but..." This circumstance suggests that nominee Kim's remarks acted as direct or indirect pressure on ministry working-level officials.

Among nominee Kim's conversations, there is also a part stating, "The moment it's approved, they could make hundreds of billions of won." This is a passage showing awareness of the private commercial value pursued by the company in question.

  The initial explanations nominee Kim offered regarding the allegations further undermined credibility. Kim's side explained that he had "run into Yang by chance." The claim was meant to portray it as a "simple forwarding of a public interest tip" without any special personal friendship. However, as shared social media profile pictures, affectionate terms of address, and continuous call logs were revealed one after another, the credibility of the claim took a major blow. At a press conference today, nominee Kim's words were completely different. "Running into each other by chance was reported due to a failure to communicate thoroughly with our preparation team," Kim said. Nominee Kim confessed, "I came to know CEO Yang as a fellow patron at places like restaurants and cafes frequented by legal professionals, and later I took on representing her in a Labor Standards Act violation case. It is true that I respected her as a successful female entrepreneur and spent time with her as a close junior acquaintance."

Suspicion has also been raised regarding the rejection of the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant against Genencell founder Kang. In 2023, a judge surnamed Jeong at the Seoul Western District Court rejected the arrest warrant requested for Kang. Judge Jeong had worked together with nominee Kim in the past and also knew Yang. In February 2022, Yang even posted a photo taken together with nominee Kim and Judge Jeong on her social media. Regarding Judge Jeong, Kim avoided a direct answer, stating, "I believe it was handled appropriately according to law and procedure, and I will explain further after reviewing it in detail later."

  The driving force fueling allegations against nominee Kim has been the KakaoTalk chat logs and phone call recordings disclosed by Representative Han Dong-hoon. These materials appear to have been compiled in prosecution investigative records. Because of this, the Democratic Party of Korea suspects that Han used his status as a former justice minister to improperly remove and retain undisclosed investigative records after leaving office. Nominee Kim also raised his voice at today's press conference, saying, "Representative Han is waging a political offensive by leaking investigative materials to the media bit by bit," adding, "This is subject to criminal punishment." "This is a typical example of the prosecutorial 'cabinet politics' that Representative Han has practiced alongside Yoon Suk Yeol," Kim said, demanding, "Where did you obtain these investigative materials? Were they acquired lawfully?" If these suspicions are true, Representative Han violated laws including the Personal Information Protection Act and instigation of leaking official secrets.

However, if the materials were tipped off after being legitimately inspected and copied through parties to the case, such as defense counsel or complainants, and then disclosed for the purpose of "personnel vetting," the illegality could be largely negated. In addition, whether this falls within the scope of a lawmaker's immunity from liability is also a key issue. Han also expressed confidence to the media, stating, "These are materials obtained in a manner that presents no problem whatsoever."

The justice minister is a position that oversees and supervises the nation's judicial system. To command authority, the minister must be legally flawless above anyone else. That is precisely why so many past justice ministers have had short tenures. Even a small blemish that might be overlooked for another minister can prove fatal. Representative Han Dong-hoon has stated that he "still has plenty more to say." It appears unlikely that the controversy surrounding nominee Kim will easily subside.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.