The People Power Party called for the withdrawal of the nomination of Kim Seung-won for Minister of Justice. Along with Yong Hye-in, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, it determined "not acceptable" even before the confirmation hearings began.
Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, urged the withdrawal of the nomination at a floor countermeasures meeting on the morning of the 4th, saying of the allegation that the nominee sought approval for a clinical trial of a new drug, "It is nonsense in itself that someone given a suspended indictment would become Minister of Justice."
Jeong, the floor leader, said, "It is a tremendous conflict of interest in itself that a person with a suspended indictment in a bribery-related case would become the Minister in charge of the Prosecution Service, which oversees indictments," adding, "On top of a 'defendant president' with five trials underway, installing a 'suspended-indictment Minister of Justice' would be a national tragedy. Kim, the nominee who would be the minister in charge of indictment cancellations, is not qualified to undergo a hearing."
Kim Tae-gyu, the People Power Party's senior deputy floor spokesperson, met with reporters after the floor countermeasures meeting and said, "Kim Seung-won, the nominee who would be the minister exclusively handling indictment cancellations, should have his nomination withdrawn altogether," adding, "Insisting on the nomination when the substance of the new drug bribery case has all come to light is a problem."
Park Chung-kwon, the People Power Party's chief spokesperson, also criticized in a commentary that day, saying, "In Oct. 2021, at the request of a hostess-bar broker, the nominee Kim sent a text directly to the head of the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety saying, 'Please process this quickly,'" and, "When the clinical trial was approved like lightning just two weeks later, the broker demanded a 5 million won donation from the pharmaceutical company's CEO, and the nominee Kim, as if waiting, sent over a bank account number."
Park, the chief spokesperson, noted, "On top of the influence-peddling, the suspicion of collusion with the judiciary—calling in even the warrant judge to a drinking session to bury the case—is even more shocking," adding, "The circumstances that the judge in question dismissed the warrant even after a recusal request from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was ignored are enough to raise suspicions that even the court of law's judgment was privately manipulated."
The People Power Party also takes the position that the nomination of Yong Hye-in for Minister of Gender Equality and Family should be withdrawn. However, it has not yet decided whether to boycott the confirmation hearings for the two nominees.
Senior spokesperson Kim Tae-gyu said, "The Democratic Party proposed the 16th for Kim Seung-won's hearing, and we counterproposed the 15th," adding, "A boycott was not specifically mentioned today."