As allegations surrounding Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, continue to grow, he is set to address these issues directly on September 7.
According to Kim's confirmation hearing preparation team, he will arrive at the preparation office in the Jeoksun Hyundai Building in Jongno, Seoul, at 9:30 a.m. on September 7, where he will hold a Q&A session with reporters.
This will be Kim's first opportunity to officially respond to the various allegations that have emerged since he began working at the preparation office on September 3. Despite the mounting concerns, he has not publicly addressed the issues until now.
Kim is facing accusations that he pressured the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to expedite the approval of clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment developed by Genensel, at the request of a broker known as Yang, who refers to him as 'oppa' (older brother). Additionally, the opposition party has raised concerns that salaries for Kim's wife and children, who operate the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, are funded by taxpayer money.
Meanwhile, the preparation team released a statement regarding the allegations of pressuring for clinical trial approvals, asserting that Kim's request to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety was for a status check and report, not for approval.
In response to a recording released by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, which raised related allegations, the team claimed, "The recording was edited to misrepresent a request for confirmation as pressure for approval," adding that there was no demand for unconditional approval, relaxation of review standards, or procedural shortcuts in the recording.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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