[Anchor]

It has been confirmed through SBS's reporting that the son of the presiding judge who dismissed the arrest warrant for the CEO of Genencell—who had channeled complaints to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety through then-Lawmaker and current Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won—worked at Kim's office.

Kim hired him as an intern, or legislative assistant, raising fresh suspicions that the hiring was a reward for the warrant dismissal.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the details.

[Reporter]

In December 2023, the arrest warrant requested for Kang Se-chan, the founder of the COVID-19 new drug company Genencell, on charges including attempted fraud, was dismissed.

The warrant judge in charge of the hearing at the time was senior judge Jeong from the Seoul Western District Court. A photo of him taken together with nominee Kim and businessman Yang in the past was recently made public on the 3rd.

In response, nominee Kim stated that after accidentally running into Judge Jeong and Yang at a private gathering in February 2022, he had neither met nor contacted them since.

However, an SBS investigation confirmed that in the first half of 2024, Judge Jeong's college student son worked as a legislative assistant in the office of Kim, who was a member of the National Assembly at the time.

The judge's son was hired at Kim's office several months after the judge dismissed the warrant, which directly contradicts the explanation Kim provided right after the photo was made public.

In response to SBS's inquiry asking about any connection between the dismissal of Genencell founder Kang's warrant and the employment of Judge Jeong's son, nominee Kim's side stated, "Judge Jeong's son experienced working in the lawmaker's office as a legislative assistant in accordance with the general procedures of assembly activities, and it was not even an official position." They added that it is "clear that no causal relationship is recognized between the warrant dismissal and the legislative assistant work, and the claim implying a reward is groundless."

Regarding the criticism that this conflicts with the explanation given after the photo was revealed, they explained, "It was a misunderstanding caused by insufficient communication due to the nominee's personal circumstances, and there is no fact that he contacted or discussed specific cases with Judge Jeong."

(Photo courtesy of Yang Hyun-cheol | Video by Kim Jun-hee | Graphics by Jeon Yu-geun)