[Anchor]

Kim Seung-won, nominee for Minister of Justice, stated that he has "nothing to hide" regarding his past hiring of a senior judge's son as a legislative assistant in his lawmaker's office. However, he added that he is sorry for causing concern and will explain the details during his confirmation hearing.

Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, arrived at his confirmation hearing preparation office this morning (September 11).

Regarding the hiring of the son of Presiding Judge Jeong, who dismissed the arrest warrant for Kang Se-chan—the CEO of a COVID-19 new drug development company tied to Kim's alleged lobbying suspicions involving the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety—Kim stated that he is "proud of it."

[Kim Seung-won/Nominee for Minister of Justice: Because I have nothing to be ashamed of, I assigned him the role of legislative assistant through an open interview process...]

Presiding Judge Jeong, who dismissed the arrest warrant for businessman Kang, is also the person who appeared in a photograph alongside Kim and a broker surnamed Yang.

However, an SBS investigation revealed that Judge Jeong's college-age son worked as a legislative assistant in Kim's office when Kim was a member of the National Assembly in the first half of 2024.

The judge's son was hired at Kim's office a few months after Judge Jeong dismissed the warrant.

[Kim Seung-won/Nominee for Minister of Justice: A legislative assistant receives a security pass rather than an official ID, meaning they are not official employees. They only receive about 1 million won a month...]

Kim's camp explained that "it is clear that no causal relationship is recognized between the warrant dismissal and the assistant position, and claims suggesting a quid pro quo are unfounded."

Meanwhile, Kim expressed regret for causing concern over various suspicions surrounding him, but added that he will explain them thoroughly at his confirmation hearing.

However, he maintained his previous stance regarding the alleged lobbying of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, stating that it was merely relaying a public interest complaint.

He also expressed his resolve, saying, "If I become the Minister of Justice, I want to devote myself to reform-oriented tasks such as prosecution reform."

Kim's parliamentary confirmation hearing is scheduled to be held on September 15.

(Camera: Yang Hyun-chul, Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin)