Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, addressed allegations today (Sept. 4) that he drank together with a broker surnamed Yang, who is implicated in a clinical trial approval lobbying scandal for a new drug, and a warrant-duty judge, stating, "I have never contacted or made any requests in connection with the case."

The transition team for nominee Kim stated in an explanatory briefing today, "We merely happened to run into Judge Jung and Yang at a public, private gathering around February 2022, and have neither met nor contacted them since."

Kim's clarification comes amid controversy sparked by the release of a photograph showing Yang—who solicited Kim in October 2021 to approve clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment—meeting and posing with Judge Jung of the Seoul Western District Court at a restaurant around February 2022.

It was learned that Judge Jung is a senior-junior alumnus of Kim from Seoul National University's College of Law, passed the bar examination one year apart, and worked together at the Jeonju District Court in 2002.

Approximately one year and 10 months after the meeting took place, in December 2023, Judge Jung dismissed the arrest warrant for Kang, the head of Genencell, a COVID-19 treatment development company, on charges including attempted fraud.

Kang is the individual who asked Yang to help secure swift approval for the COVID-19 treatment clinical trials through political figures.

However, Kim stated that he has neither contacted nor met with Judge Jung since February 2022, when the photo was taken.

Broker Yang is reportedly known to have been acquainted with Kim since the 2000s.

In 2013, Kim even served as defense counsel for a Labor Standards Act violation case involving an adult entertainment establishment operated by Yang.

According to prosecution indictment records and other sources, Yang was close enough to Kim to refer to him as "oppa" or "hyung" (older brother terms).

Yang also posted photos taken with Kim and Judge Jung on his social media account, writing that he attended the gathering after receiving a call from Kim while working overtime.

Previously, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon raised allegations that in 2023, the then-Head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Planning and Coordination Department visited the Deputy Director of the National Court Administration to request that Judge Jung be excluded from reviewing Kang's case warrant, but the Supreme Court did not accept the request.

Lawmaker Han asked, "Was the reason for requesting exclusion because it was difficult to expect a fair warrant review due to Judge Jung's special relationship with nominee Kim and Yang?" adding, "Despite this, did Judge Jung take charge of the warrant review for that case and dismiss the arrest warrant for the Genencell owner?"

The prosecution reportedly secured a photo of Kim, Yang, and Judge Jung taken together, along with text messages from the time in which Kim told Yang he was together with him and called Judge Jung over to the drinking session, while investigating the case.

When the arrest warrant for Kang was dismissed, the prosecution requested a warrant once again, and Kang was ultimately arrested in January 2024 after a different warrant-duty judge issued the warrant.

Nominee Kim's side countered that the past photo and the warrant review are unrelated and that he never exerted influence over the trial.

The transition team stated, "Judge Jung was not involved in the warrant review for the relevant case.

The two requests for arrest warrants against Yang were reviewed and dismissed by different warrant-duty judges unrelated to Judge Jung."

However, no mention was made regarding the dismissal of the warrant for Kang, as opposed to Yang.

The team added, "The gathering took place about two years prior to the arrest warrant reviews for the relevant individuals," and "The nominee could not have anticipated the investigation or warrant requests at the time, nor did he know about the request and dismissal of the arrest warrant in December 2023."

Kim, a former judge, was investigated on allegations that in October 2021, following Yang's solicitation, he asked then-Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Chief Kim Gang-lip to approve clinical trials for the treatment; however, in December 2024, the prosecution issued a suspension of indictment for Kim, citing a lack of direct monetary reception and difficulty in concluding that the solicitation was unlawful.