The office of Rep. Kim Seung-won of the Democratic Party of Korea, who withdrew from consideration as justice minister nominee, pushed back on the 19th against a media report that a petition containing additional allegations had been delivered to the presidential office, saying the rumors in the petition "differ from the facts or contain exaggerations and errors."
Kim's office said in a statement that day that it "has not been contacted by the presidential office about the contents of the petition and does not know whether it was submitted."
One media outlet reported that day, after Kim held a news conference announcing his withdrawal, that a petition from former aides urging the withdrawal of his nomination as justice minister had been delivered to the presidential office. According to the report, the petition included allegations of past sexual harassment by Kim and efforts by aides to cover it up, an additional drunk driving allegation, allegations of habitual verbal abuse and profanity directed at aides after drinking, and additional influence-peddling allegations beyond the "new drug lobbying" case.
"Regarding the above rumors about the background of the nominee's withdrawal, the aide who worked there at the time has stated that they differ from the facts," the office said. "We will take necessary action after verifying and reviewing the exact facts about how the report came about and its contents."
On online images purporting to show Kim together with a broker in the alleged lobbying case for approval of a new drug clinical trial, the office said, "Malicious AI-generated content and false or manipulated information about Rep. Kim are currently circulating online." It added, "The office is tracing the distribution channels. We will track down the original creator and distributors and take strong legal action."
