Separate 11.3 Billion Won Deal? Transcript Shows "Money Would Have Had to Be Returned Without Approval"

[Anchor]

The reason we have been focusing our reporting on this multi-billion-won equity transaction is that Ministerial Nominee for Justice Kim Seung-won appears in the process of approving a new drug. Genexel founder Kang Se-chan has claimed that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's clinical trial approval had nothing to do with the investment made at the time. However, transcripts and other materials we obtained from that period reveal statements that contradict Kang's claims.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Regarding the 11.3 billion won transaction between Genexel and Sejong Medical on October 19, 2021, Genexel founder Kang Se-chan has maintained that the investment was made purely based on Genexel's potential value and was completely "separate" from the IND, or the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's clinical trial plan approval.

[Kang Se-chan / Genexel Founder (2021, regarding Sejong Medical): We were first introduced in July and held a meeting, reviewed documents starting in August, and evaluated the corporate value for investment in September. The investment happened because the evaluation went well, not because we were attracting investment over a single IND (clinical trial plan) approval step.]

However, around October 19 when the transaction took place, transcripts of conversations between businessman Yang, whom Ministerial Nominee for Justice Kim described as a "close junior," and Kang himself reveal different circumstances.

According to the prosecution's indictment and phone transcripts released by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, on October 6, thirteen days before the transaction.

Kang called Yang and requested, "We are set to receive the investment on the condition of clinical approval, so please get it approved quickly through political figures."

The very next day, on the 7th, Yang told Nominee Kim in a phone call, "We have also secured 300 billion won in investment. So the money is scheduled to come in on October 15."

Then on the 8th, it was found that Kang sent text messages to Yang saying, "Approval must be granted before the 19th," which is the contract date for Genexel shares and convertible bonds, and "Please ask them to grant approval sometime that week."

On November 26 of the same year, following the multi-billion-won transaction and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's approval.

According to a transcript of a phone conversation between Yang and an acquaintance, Yang made the following remarks.

[Businessman Yang: I told (Kang Se-chan), 'You should also show some courtesy to Seung-won oppa.' And then the approval dropped right the next day. If the approval hadn't dropped the next day, (Kang Se-chan) Professor would have had to spit the money back out, 6.7 billion.]

[Yang's Acquaintance: That means you did something massive.]

Contrary to Kang's claims, analyses are being raised that the "Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approval issue," involving Nominee Kim, was the core link in the "transactions surrounding Genexel."

(Video reporter: Lee Chan-soo, Video editor: So Ji-hye, Design: Kim Min-young)

> [Exclusive] "11.3 Billion Won Investment and Clinical Approval Are Separate"..."Aimed for Profits"
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.