Presidential Office Says "Difficult to Confirm" on Reports of New Petition Against Kim Seungwon for Sexual Harassment and Drunk Driving Allegations

The presidential office stated that it was "difficult to confirm matters related to personnel affairs" in response to media reports that a petition containing allegations of sexual harassment and other accusations against Kim Seungwon, the former nominee for Minister of Justice, had recently been delivered to the Blue House.

Kim Seungwon, nominee for Minister of Justice, is leaving the National Assembly Communication Office after concluding his resignation press conference on September 19, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News.

A presidential official made this statement to the press on September 19. On the same day, KBS reported that former aides of Kim had delivered a petition detailing past sexual harassment allegations against Kim, the process of allegedly covering them up, an additional drunk driving incident, and another request-for-favor allegation to Hong Ikpyo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, and others on September 17.

Previously, earlier that morning, Kim held an emergency press conference and resigned, stating that he “did not meet the expectations of the public.” He cited as his reason for stepping down, “I must not impose additional burdens on a government that needs to complete its reforms.” However, there have been further allegations against Kim raised within some circles of the political community.

Immediately after his resignation press conference, Kim did not respond to media questions such as, "Did you resign due to the emergence of new problems this time?" and "Are there other allegations aside from those already raised?"

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