[Anchor]

Democratic Party Lawmaker Kim Seung-won has voluntarily stepped down from his nomination as Justice Minister. Apologizing that he "fell short of the public's expectations," he withdrew his bid. Just two days ago, the ruling bloc seemed intent on pushing through his appointment, but the political atmosphere shifted abruptly. Representative Kim stated that he "made up my mind after watching the president's press conference yesterday (September 18)."

Reporter Kwon Ji-yoon reports first.

[Reporter]

Democratic Party Lawmaker Kim Seung-won, who held an unscheduled press conference at 11 a.m. today, stepped down from his nomination as Justice Minister 20 days after being named, stating in a roughly three-minute announcement, "I apologize for failing to meet expectations."

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Taking it heavily that I fell short of the public's expectations, I will deeply reflect on my shortcomings.]

This comes just one day after President Lee Jae-myung stated at a press conference yesterday morning regarding the appointment, "I have not reached a final conclusion, and I will make a prudent decision in consideration of public standards."

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Watching the president's press conference solidified my decision. I thought that not even a small burden should be added to the government, which must complete reforms.]

When asked whether there had been prior coordination with the party and the Blue House, he replied:

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Causing trouble for the president was what pained me the most.]

However, Representative Kim maintained his stance that there was no wrongdoing regarding allegations of soliciting favors involving the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, saying, "Even if I step down from the post, I will not give up on the truth."

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker: I will uncover the full truth behind Han Dong-hoon's illegal leak and manipulation of confidential investigative records to the very end.]

The Blue House stated, "We respect the nominee's decision," adding, "We understand that the nominee made this decision to reduce the burden on state affairs."

The Democratic Party, which just two days ago unilaterally adopted a confirmation hearing report describing him as "the right person for justice administration," issued a written statement saying, "We respect this agonizing decision, and we will listen with an even lower and humbler posture."

The conservative opposition condemned the situation as "belated" and a "personnel disaster," demanding a reinvestigation into the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety solicitation allegations as well as disciplinary action for the personnel vetting team.

[Park Sung-hoon / People Power Party Chief Spokesperson: Do not think of cutting off the tail to evade responsibility through Nominee Kim Seung-won's voluntary resignation. We will thoroughly uncover who is truly behind this personnel disaster.]

As of today, a total of five cabinet nominees have fallen through under the Lee Jae-myung administration, and Representative Kim is the first among them to resign after a confirmation hearing report had already been adopted.

He is the third sitting lawmaker in history to fall short of a ministerial appointment, following Representatives Kang Sun-woo and Yong Hye-in.

(Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo)