Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, said on the 16th that the confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won was "a cheap melodrama staged by a third-rate actor."
Writing on Facebook, Jang said the hearing "only confirmed once again that this is a person who must never be appointed."
Jang pointed to Kim's response at the hearing to allegations that side effects were falsified and concealed in animal testing of ES16001, a COVID-19 treatment candidate developed by Genencell, including the deaths of hamsters. Kim said he "majored in the humanities and could not fully assess the drug's efficacy." Jang said that "if he lacks even that much judgment, he should not be a lawmaker, let alone a minister."
"The ringleaders of the stock manipulation pocketed billions of won, and the broker who moved Kim Seung-won made 600 million won," Jang said. "That money came straight out of the tears and blood of 30,000 small investors. None of it would have happened without Kim Seung-won's illegal lobbying of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety."
Jang also said that when Kim was criticized over a family association he described as steeped in preferential treatment, "he could not explain himself and only shed tears." He added: "Democratic Party lawmakers even applauded him. To the public, the one crying and the ones clapping are six of one and half a dozen of the other."
"He even brought up the absurd claim that this amounted to disclosure of facts under investigation," Jang said. "He refused to submit records of his drunk-driving convictions, calling them 'personal information.' Make him minister and he will cause real trouble."
Turning to President Lee Jae-myung, Jang said: "The entire nation has seen that this nominee is corrupt and incompetent. Will you appoint him anyway simply because he is close to you?" He added that "Kim Seung-won is set to become a topic at every family's Chuseok table."
