Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, denied allegations that he hired the son of a judge who dismissed an arrest warrant for the founder of Genensel as a legislative assistant in his office. He also clarified accusations that he sought approval for Genensel's COVID-19 treatment clinical trials, stating he was merely conveying the difficulties faced by small businesses.
On the morning of September 11, as he arrived at the preparation office for his confirmation hearing in Jongno, Seoul, Kim told reporters about the hiring of Judge Jeong In-jae's son, saying, "I am proud of my actions, which is why I conducted an open interview for the legislative assistant position."
He added, "Legislative assistants are not formal employees; they assist with parliamentary work. To my knowledge, he was paid around 1 million won per month and worked hard during that time."
Kim emphasized, "If I had anything to hide, this information would not be publicly available," and noted that he believed the young man had gone to the military after completing his work.
However, Kim did not respond to questions about whether an official recruitment announcement was made at the time of hiring. He also declined to comment on additional recordings suggesting he connected broker Yang with Judge Jeong.
Earlier, the preparation team for Kim's confirmation hearing refuted claims that the hiring of Judge Jeong's son was a case of nepotism, stating, "There is clearly no causal relationship between the dismissal of the warrant and the legislative assistant position."
According to the preparation team, Kim had previously mentioned the legislative assistant system during a meeting with Judge Jeong. Subsequently, Judge Jeong's son directly contacted Kim's office in mid-2024 to apply and underwent verification procedures, including interviews with aides.
The legislative assistant program provides university and graduate students with experience in parliamentary work. Since they are not officially registered as public officials or interns with the National Assembly, they do not receive official certificates of employment. The preparation team explained that the young man was compensated around 1 million won per month for transportation and meal expenses during his tenure.
The controversy arose after it was revealed that the son of the judge who dismissed the arrest warrant for Genensel's founder had worked in Kim's office. The preparation team maintains that Kim did not influence the judge's warrant review or discuss related cases.
Additionally, they clarified that the two previous requests for arrest warrants against Yang were reviewed and dismissed by different judges, not Judge Jeong. They argue that linking the dismissal of the warrant to the son's employment in Kim's office is not justified.
Kim also denied allegations that he exerted influence over the approval process for Genensel's COVID-19 treatment clinical trials.
He explained, "The small company requested that I look into why the process was not moving forward due to pressure from multinational corporations. I was merely conveying their concerns about unfair practices."
Kim stated that, at the time, he had confirmed that clinical trials were underway in China, India, the United States, and Europe. He believed it was appropriate to relay related complaints, given that both the ruling and opposition parties, as well as the government, were working to develop treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He emphasized, "I had only one brief communication with the head of the Korea Food and Drug Administration, someone I did not know, and exchanged a few text messages. I believed that was sufficient to address their concerns."
The police plan to summon officials from the People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee on September 12 to investigate the allegations regarding Kim's request for clinical trial approval.
Kim expressed regret over the controversies surrounding him and stated he would provide a detailed explanation during the National Assembly confirmation hearing.
He said, "I sincerely apologize to the public for causing concern due to various controversies as a politician. I will explain everything in detail at the confirmation hearing."
He added, "I have been working on various issues, including judicial reform, media reform, and amending commercial law to normalize the capital market. If I become Minister of Justice, I want to focus on reformative work for the benefit of the public."
Kim concluded, "I will do my utmost to ensure that the new criminal justice system is well established and does not cause inconvenience to the public."
The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Kim is scheduled for September 15.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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