Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has been making near-daily allegations against Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, said on the 3rd that Kim built up an off-the-books fund through a separate channel while serving as chair of the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Province chapter.
In a Facebook post that day, Han publicly questioned Kim, saying the Gyeonggi chapter paid several party staff members an extra 2 million won on top of their actual salaries while Kim led the chapter. He asked whether the money was then "paid back" — transferred repeatedly and continuously into a bank account held in the name of a particular staff member, rather than the chapter's political funds disbursement account registered with the National Election Commission — and used as an off-the-books fund.
Han's claim is that staff members were paid 2 million won more per month than their actual salaries, and that the money was returned to an account under a specific staff member's name to create a separate pool of funds.
A day earlier, Han disclosed the contents of messages Kim sent to Kim Kang-lip, then commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, raising allegations that Kim had lobbied for clinical trial approval.
According to Han, Kim wrote to the former commissioner: "I understand the work is divided among three units — the herbal medicine division, the clinical trials policy division and the statistical analysis team. I ask that the officials in charge handle it a little more quickly. The company is Genencell." He added: "I raised this because I am also concerned about an outflow of national wealth. Thank you, commissioner."
Han raised the same allegations at a full meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on the 31st of last month. He pressed the Justice Ministry at the time, saying prosecutors had investigated Kim over a request from an acquaintance to approve a COVID-19 treatment, which Kim then passed on to the food and drug safety commissioner. "Should someone like this be allowed to serve as minister?" he asked.
On the 1st of this month, when the National Assembly opened its regular session, news cameras captured Kim's mobile phone screen showing a message to Seo Young-kyo, chair of the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, explaining the progress of the investigation and the rationale for his constitutional appeal, along with the words "I am sorry." The message was seen as Kim explaining his position to Seo amid Han's series of allegations.
Kim received a suspended indictment in the case in December 2024. In February 2025, he said he would file a constitutional appeal, adding that he felt "the sheer malice of the political prosecution."
