Han Donghoon Reveals Kim Seungwon-Broker Call Transcript: "What Were the Goods Received?"

Transcript of February 2022 Call Released
Kim Seungwon: "Miss you so much it brings me to tears"
Yang: "I'm coming with plenty of stuff"

On September 5, independent lawmaker Han Donghoon disclosed a recorded phone call between Kim Seungwon, nominee for Minister of Justice, and broker Yang, who is involved in a lobbying case related to the approval of a new drug clinical trial.

Kim Seungwon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, is speaking as he arrives at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

In a Facebook post, Han asked, "Is it true that you 'accidentally' ran into Mr. Yang around February 2022?" and then released the relevant recording. Regarding Kim’s explanation that he "incidentally encountered" Yang and the judge in charge of warrants at a private gathering in February 2022, Han refuted, calling it a "brazen lie."

According to the transcript, on February 9, 2022—when Kim was a first-term lawmaker—he said to Yang during a call, "I miss you so much that tears are coming to my eyes." Yang replied, "Oppa, I'll rush over—where are you now?"

When Kim answered, "Yeouido," Yang said, "I'm in Hanam, so it'll take me about an hour. Is that okay? I'll leave right now, so send me the address."

Kim then said, "Hold on... Ah, it's also judicial personnel season at our court right now." To this, Yang replied, "Is this too much?" and Kim responded, "I'll wait for you."

Call recording of conversation between Kim Seungwon, nominee for Minister of Justice in September 2022, and broker Mr. Yang, disclosed by Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. Han Dong-hoon Facebook.

In a second call on the same day, Kim said, "It's a bit disappointing if we only have 20 or 30 minutes to meet," to which Yang replied, "I'm not disappointed—I’m coming with plenty of stuff, just wait there." Kim replied, "Alright, I’ll wait."

Han questioned the reference to "stuff," asking, "What exactly were the 'goods' that Yang brought for you?"

Separately, Han also released a transcript of a phone call from October 2021 between Yang and another person. In this recording, regarding suspicions of lobbying for new drug clinical trial approval, Yang said, "When it comes to getting regulatory approval, it's Seungwon oppa. He talked to the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and today even suggested, 'Should I push with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, too? The sponsorship is only 5 million won, so things need to go well for you. Everything moves because of you,'" thus implying the lobbying effort.

Han argued, "Yang meant that, since he would only receive 5 million won in sponsorship at most, Kim told him to make sure he got sufficient compensation for lobbying the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on his behalf."

Kim, a former judge, was under investigation on allegations that, in October 2021, at Yang’s request, he asked then-Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Ganglip to approve the clinical trial of a certain treatment. However, the prosecution determined that there was no direct exchange of money or goods and that it was difficult to conclusively determine the illegality of the lobbying. As a result, Kim was given a suspension of indictment in December 2024. Later, around February 2022, controversy erupted after a photo surfaced of Kim, Yang, and Judge Jeong, who was responsible for warrants, posing together.

In response, Kim’s confirmation hearing preparation team stated the previous day, "At the disclosed private gathering, Kim only happened to run into Judge Jeong and Mr. Yang by chance; afterward, he did not meet or contact them again. Judge Jeong did not take part in reviewing warrants for this case. The two arrest warrant requests for Yang were reviewed and dismissed by two separate warrant judges who had no connection to Judge Jeong."

On this day, spokesperson Kim Seonghoe argued in a written briefing that the People Power Party was "determining the outcome before the confirmation hearing even begins regarding the suspicion of lobbying for clinical trial approval of a COVID-19 treatment, which amounts to mere political maneuvering, not a genuine verification process." He criticized them, stating, "They are labeling a nominee whom even the prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration could not indict."

Spokesperson Kim pointed out, "Even after a thorough investigation by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s prosecutors, Kim was ultimately not indicted. Are they now trying to deny the conclusions reached by their own prosecutors? At that time, the People Power Party was the ruling party. What kind of restrictions could there have been on an investigation targeting an opposition lawmaker? Even on that uneven playing field, they couldn't bring the case to trial."

He added, "The People Power Party is asserting bribery and talking about imprisonment regarding an unresolved issue, but there is no evidence of any exchange of money or valuables."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.