Kim Seung-won: "A Respected, Close Junior"... "Would He Have Done It If Not an 'Oppa'?"

[Anchor]

Regarding Yang, an individual involved in the "Ministry of Food and Drug Safety lobbying suspicions," candidate Kim Seung-won explained today (7th) that "she is a successful female entrepreneur and a close junior whom I respect." Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has raised various suspicions regarding candidate Kim and Yang, fired back, calling it an "'Oppa' lobbying" case.

This report is from reporter Kim Jin-woo.

[Reporter]

In 2021, candidate for Minister of Justice Kim Seung-won received phone calls and text messages from an individual named Yang requesting expedited handling by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding clinical trial plan approvals for Genencel, a COVID-19 new drug developer. Regarding Yang, candidate Kim stated today:

[Kim Seung-won / Candidate for Minister of Justice: It is true that I first got to know [Yang] as a customer at a restaurant and cafe frequented by legal professionals, and that we have maintained a relationship where I respect her as a successful female entrepreneur and consider her a close junior.]

Candidate Kim also admitted to having represented Yang in a Labor Standards Act violation case.

According to the judgment at the time, Yang, who operated an adult entertainment establishment in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was indicted on charges of failing to pay severance wages to hostesses who worked there between 2007 and 2010, and received a finalized suspended sentence in 2013.

Later, in 2014, Yang took office as the CEO of Company K, a cosmetics and pharmaceutical firm established that year.

According to prosecutors' indictment records and other documents, Yang, who made the request to candidate Kim regarding the drug approval, is also a figure suspected by prosecutors of having received compensation from Genencel in the form of a 600 million won investment into her own Company K.

The battle has also intensified between candidate Kim and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has designated himself as candidate Kim's sniper.

Targeting Lawmaker Han, candidate Kim stated, "He is waging a political offensive through the leakage of investigative materials," and demanded that Han appear as a witness at the confirmation hearing. In response, Lawmaker Han hit back by urging the National Assembly Speaker to appoint him as a confirmation hearing member, while taking a jab at candidate Kim and Yang:

[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker: Would they do that if he wasn't an 'oppa'? Is life too sad for those without younger brothers? Can't people run pharmaceutical companies if they don't have an 'oppa'?]

The Democratic Party, which formed a "Lawmaker Han response team," claimed, "Lawmaker Han is cutting and cherry-picking materials piece by piece to exaggerate suspicions," calling it "the signature 'devil's editing' of political prosecutors."

(Photo: Yonhap News — File Photo: Yonhap News) (Video Reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu | Design: Lee Ga-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.