"Jenexell's New Drug Administered to 93 People"… Hearings Without Witnesses Tomorrow

[Anchor]

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won will be held tomorrow (the 15th). There are many issues to verify, including suspicions of lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, special hiring favors for the judge's son, and false address registrations, but only the nominee will attend without a single witness. Regarding nominee Kim's "lobbying suspicions," it has also newly been revealed that the drug in question was actually administered to 93 people.

First, Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Today, one day ahead of the National Assembly confirmation hearing, Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won repeatedly gave this response to reporters on his way to work.

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee : (How will you explain the lobbying suspicions and other issues during the hearing?) I will explain everything tomorrow. If I say various things now, perhaps….]

While Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in stepped down yesterday, the People Power Party pressured that nominee Kim's nomination should be withdrawn even now.

[Jang Dong-hyeok / People Power Party Leader : Are you trying to present the public before Chuseok with a "comprehensive set of crimes"? Even now, Kim Seung-won's nomination must be immediately withdrawn.]

The Democratic Party vowed to "protect nominee Kim," calling it an unfounded, false agitation.

[Han Byeong-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader : Even if you repeat "mudslinging, no-matter-what" suspicions 100 times, false agitation cannot become verification.]

The core issue in verifying nominee Kim is the "suspicion of lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety."

The question is whether nominee Kim's action in 2021 asking then-Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Gang-lip for "fast-tracking" regarding the approval of the clinical trial plan for Jenexell's new drug was appropriate.

Suspicions of "illegal lobbying" and counterarguments that it was "delivering a public interest petition" are clashing.

It has also been additionally revealed that in 2022, after Jenexell's new drug received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the drug or a placebo was administered to 93 COVID-19 patients during the clinical trial process.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated that no serious adverse drug reaction cases have been reported to date, but as Jenexell is suspected of having omitted or fabricated data during the approval process, controversies surrounding the safety of clinical trials on humans are expected to grow.

The fact that nominee Kim employed as a legislative assistant the son of Judge Jeong, who dismissed the arrest warrant for the founder of Jenexell, is also a key issue.

Due to the Democratic Party's refusal to adopt witnesses, tomorrow's hearing will proceed without witnesses, and attention is focused on how much the suspicions raised against nominee Kim will be clarified.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Kim Yong-woo | Video by Lee Seunghee | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.