Kim Min-seok, the Prime Minister nominee, said on the 25th regarding his past conviction for violating the Political Fund Act, 'I respect the court, so I have faithfully followed the final decision.'
During the National Assembly personnel hearing that morning, when Representative Bae Joon-young of the People Power Party asked, 'If the President and the Prime Minister nominee ignore the Supreme Court's judgment, will the separation of powers be properly established?' Kim replied as such.
Kim stated, 'It's not that I didn't receive it of my own will, but I haven't received a pardon or rehabilitation, and I have fully paid off my obligations,' while also noting, 'There is a nature of targeted prosecution.'
He continued, 'As I mentioned in my final statement at the time, even if the same situation arises, I honestly don't know if I could go through thousands of receipts one by one, or if anyone else could keep it,' and added, 'Coincidentally, individuals who were affiliated with the National Assembly and had served as party leaders related to the non-issuance of receipts were acquitted.'
Representative Bae pointed out the Seoul Central District Court ruling materials from when Kim received 200 million won in political funds on August 2, 2007, saying, '(The nominee) had content stating, 'If there's a dispute, let's consider it as a loan.'
In response, Kim claimed, 'I have never written such an email,' and noted, 'After 20 years, I came to realize that there was a certain cartel behind the core of the prosecution at that time, as reported in the articles.'
He added, 'My second case involves an amount set at 720 million won based on the agreement to stop the vehicle, and in cases of that scale, it is rare for it to be handled with a fine,' and remarked, 'However, seeing the fine come out, I thought, 'The court must have been in a bit of trouble.''