"Lobbying Through Kim Seung-won and 600 Million Won to Broker"... Taken Into Custody

[Anchor]

Kang Se-chan, a key figure in the allegations that former Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won lobbied for a new drug, was sentenced to four years in prison, which is heavier than the lower court ruling, and was taken into court custody. The ruling is expected to impact the ongoing investigations and trials related to lawmaker Kim.

This is a report by reporter Jang Hun-gyeong.

[Reporter]

Kang Se-chan, the founder of Genencell and a key figure in the allegations that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won lobbied the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, appeared at the appellate sentencing trial.

[Kang Se-chan / Founder of Genencell: (Is your stance that you never lobbied Lawmaker Kim Seung-won still the same?) ......]

The appellate court sentenced Kang to four years in prison and a fine of 40 million won yesterday (September 30), handing down a heavier sentence than the first trial, which had given him a suspended prison term, and placed him in court custody.

In particular, the court overturned the first-instance ruling that had acquitted broker Yang, who had directly lobbied Lawmaker Kim, regarding the quid pro quo nature of the 600 million won received from Kang.

The court ruled that "it is clear that Kang lobbied for approval of clinical trials handled by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety through Lawmaker Kim, and paid 600 million won to broker Yang in return."

Lawmaker Kim's side has consistently denied the allegations of lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, citing the first-instance ruling that the 600 million won in question could not be definitively concluded as a lobbying reward.

[Kim Dong-a / Democratic Party Lawmaker (at last month's confirmation hearing): (The first-instance) ruling has cleared everything up. No evidence was found showing that an explicit promise of compensation for brokering a favor was made.]

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker (former Minister of Justice nominee, at last month's confirmation hearing): It has been confirmed that there were no violations or anything of the sort.]

With this appellate ruling, the core basis for these explanations has disappeared.

Although this ruling does not directly determine Lawmaker Kim's criminal liability, its impact on the ongoing investigations and trials appears inevitable.

This is because the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station is currently investigating the complaint regarding Lawmaker Kim's alleged new drug lobbying, and a trial is underway at the Seoul Western District Court over charges that Kang and broker Yang lobbied Lawmaker Kim to expedite the review by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and promised a donation of 5 million won.

In particular, the Western District Court trial postponed the sentencing hearing, which was originally set for the 15th, to November, stating that it would review the results of this appellate decision.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video by: Kang Si-woo | Video Editing by: Kim Jong-mi)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.