Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik of the People Power Party said on the 11th that Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won "should undergo a parliamentary investigation, not a confirmation hearing."
At a floor countermeasure meeting held this morning, the floor leader said, "Nominee Kim should undergo a parliamentary investigation, not a confirmation hearing," adding, "The various suspicions surrounding the nominee are not simple personal corruption but are expanding into a 'gate' with even stock manipulation allegations emerging."
The floor leader judged the suspicions related to nominee Kim to be pressure by a member of the National Assembly. The floor leader said, "The timing of winning Ministery of Food and Drug Safety approval for a clinical trial under the pretext of a COVID-19 treatment came just two weeks after nominee Kim contacted the head of the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety," and added, "Nominee Kim received a request from a person surnamed Yang and exerted outside pressure on the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety."
The floor leader also raised stock manipulation allegations. The floor leader said, "The share price of Sejong Medical, the largest shareholder of Genecell, which made the drug in question, soared on expectations of clinical approval," and added, "But when the clinical approval was actually announced, mass selling occurred and the stock price was cut in half."
The floor leader went on to say, "A hearing without witnesses cannot uncover anything," adding, "The relevant suspicions require not only a parliamentary investigation but also a special counsel."
Meanwhile, the floor leader also criticized senior presidential secretary for public relations Seong Ki-hong's explanation regarding President Lee Jae-myung's remark on the 9th that "the Constitution clearly limits his term," in which the secretary said, "It could be interpreted to mean he will not seek another term." The floor leader noted that this remark was insufficient to be seen as the president's clear position on a constitutional amendment for a second consecutive term.
The floor leader said, "It is time to stop saying meaningless things about constitutional revision," adding, "Only if the president personally says two things—'I will not seek another term' and 'I will stand trial'—can we acknowledge even the minimum sincerity regarding constitutional revision."