Police Consider Reinvestigating Seungwon Kim’s Alleged Lobbying of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

Prosecution Suspended in 2024,
Complaints Against Kim Assigned to Local Precincts


Five Complaints Against Hyein Yong Also Set to Be Assigned Soon

The police have assigned the case involving Seungwon Kim, nominee for Minister of Justice, who was reported on charges of lobbying to expedite approval for a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial, to a district police station and will review whether to reopen the investigation.

On the 7th, Seungwon Kim, nominee for Minister of Justice, is arriving at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up in Jeokseon Hyundai Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

At a press conference held on September 7, Goh Beomseok, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "Since two reports have been filed regarding nominee Kim, we will appoint the relevant jurisdiction and assign the cases." Regarding the possibility of a reinvestigation, he commented, "We will have to review it again at the agency level" and added, "It's difficult to give a definitive answer right now."

Nominee Kim was previously investigated in 2021 after receiving a request from broker Yang and subsequently sending a message to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety asking for expedited approval of a clinical trial for Genencell, a bio-pharmaceutical venture firm. At the time, prosecutors concluded with a suspension of indictment, but a civic group recently filed a new complaint.

On the morning of September 7, as he arrived at the preparation office for his confirmation hearing, nominee Kim stated, "I have never made any illicit request to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the review process was not compromised in any way as a result."

Commissioner Goh further stated that the case reports filed against Hyein Yong, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, will also be assigned soon. He explained, "As far as I am aware, there are five reports related to nominee Yong," adding, "These cases are also likely to be assigned immediately." Nominee Yong has been accused of several allegations, including paying party membership dues in the form of special contributions and then providing her husband, after his appointment as the party's secretary-general, with a salary; using the VIP lounge at Gimpo International Airport for personal purposes; and, during her tenure as president of the Basic Income Policy Research Institute from 2022 to 2023, allegedly misappropriating government subsidies for purposes such as paying rent for the Alba Solidarity civic group’s office or compensating close associates.

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