Allegations that Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won lobbied on behalf of a new drug are spreading inside the Democratic Party of Korea. Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, citing newly released recordings, alleged that former presidential political affairs secretary Choi Jae-sung and Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil were also involved in the lobbying. The Democratic Party pushed back strongly and vowed an all-out response at the party level.
Han wrote on his Facebook page on the 7th that "nominee Kim, former secretary Choi and the other 'Democratic Party big brothers' knew perfectly well that broker Yang would pocket a fortune if the treatment developed by Genencell, the company on whose behalf the lobbying was done, won approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety." He added, "Is a broker pocketing a fortune what you in the Democratic Party call the public interest?"
According to a recording dated Oct. 8, 2021, that Han released along with the post, Yang told Choi in a phone call: "My professor's company — referring to Genencell chief executive Kang — is now waiting for approval from the drug safety ministry. I thought about asking you, big brother, but I called big brother Seung-won instead." Choi responded in a seemingly supportive tone, saying, "You did it with good intentions."
In the same call, Yang said that if the clinical trial of Genencell's new drug cleared review, Kang would provide compensation by purchasing about 500 million won ($370,000) worth of convertible bonds. Based on the conversation, the claim is that at a minimum, nominee Kim and former secretary Choi were aware that Yang stood to reap a large profit from the drug agency's approval.
Han also alleged that Song and an unnamed "lawmaker Kim" were involved. In another recording released by Han, Yang said, "Lawmaker Song is a fox, so he only moves if you give him money," and, "I think about 800 million won might be invested, and the only ones who mentioned a figure were nominee Kim and lawmaker Kim." Unlike "lawmaker Choi," whose identity he disclosed, Han did not name "lawmaker Kim," saying he would "give him a chance to come forward first."
Song, named in Han's allegations, immediately expressed displeasure. On his Facebook page, he said Han was "someone I do not know at all" and accused him of "selectively picking parts of a one-sided conversation to damage my reputation." Seoul Economic Daily attempted to reach Choi by phone several times but was unable to make contact.
The People Power Party joined the offensive against the government and the ruling party, using the allegations against Kim as leverage. Chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said the party would "concentrate its resources to the maximum to pursue a special counsel probe" and "get to the bottom of the truth." People Power Party lawmakers Na Kyung-won, Park Soo-young and Joo Jin-woo said at a National Assembly press conference that "if you follow the trail of the influence-peddling allegations link by link, President Lee Jae-myung stands at the end of the cover-up."
The Democratic Party characterized the conservative camp's allegations as a negative campaign and declared it would mount a party-level response. Chief spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters after a closed-door supreme council meeting that day that "party leader Kim Min-seok said the party needs to actively counter the negative campaign against nominee Kim," and disclosed the formation of what it called a dedicated response team to handle matters related to the confirmation hearing. The team includes supreme council members Han Min-soo and Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson Cho Kye-won and Kim Dong-ah, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Kim Eui-kyeom, the ruling party's chief committee negotiator on the judiciary panel, questioned in a radio interview how prosecution investigation materials such as Han's recordings had been obtained, saying that "if the investigating prosecutors handed them over, that constitutes leaking official secrets or disclosing details of a criminal case."
Kim also mounted an active defense of himself against the allegations. Arriving at the confirmation hearing preparation office in Jeokseon-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, that day, he said he had "never made an improper request." He added: "At the time it was the Yoon Suk-yeol government, with Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung, both appointed by former President Yoon. Could I, a first-term Democratic Party lawmaker, have pressured the prosecution into a suspended indictment?" He also told Han to "appear as a witness at the hearing and take responsibility for what he said."
In response, Han asked National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik to "make me a member of the hearing panel, since the person involved wants it so much." Kim's confirmation hearing will be held by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and Han cannot take part because he belongs to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. Joining the hearing through a committee reassignment would require help from the People Power Party, but the response has been that the party is unlikely to cooperate.
