Kim Eui-gyeom, a lawmaker who serves as the Democratic Party of Korea secretary on The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, on the 14th addressed allegations of drunk driving and false residency registration involving Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, noting, "Realistically, we cannot pick someone who lives only on dew as a nominee."
Appearing on KBS Radio's "Jeonggyeok Sisa" the same day, Kim, when asked by the host, "Aren't there quite a few disqualifying factors for a nominee for Minister of Justice?," said, "You could see it that way," but added the above.
Regarding newly raised allegations of preferential treatment for a social cooperative run by the nominee's family, Kim said, "The nominee will explain in detail tomorrow," adding, "If anything, the nominee's family is unusually, and really rarely, the spouse graduated from special education, and both the son and daughter graduated from departments specializing in welfare for children with disabilities and have worked in that field for a long time."
In particular, Kim argued that the prosecution's investigation into the nominee's alleged lobbying on new drugs at the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety was a "targeted investigation" aimed at President Lee Jae-myung, who was then the Democratic Party leader.
Kim said, "This investigation came down from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to the Western District Prosecutors' Office as a directive investigation in Nov. 2022, and as soon as it came down, the first thing prosecutors started looking into was the connection between Lee Jae-myung's Daejang-dong and Rep. Kim Seung-won."
On the possibility of withdrawing indictments in cases related to President Lee Jae-myung, Kim answered, "Didn't the nominee make it clear that, if he becomes Minister of Justice, he would have no authority to do so and no intention to do so," adding, "I think that settles it."
As for the criticism that appointing the nominee could add burdens for the ruling camp, Kim said, "We also feel somewhat heavy-hearted," but added, "Still, I think we must protect what must be protected."
The nominee's confirmation hearing will be held on the 15th, with not a single witness requested by the opposition adopted.