Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won on the 3rd, regarding the controversy over canceling the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case, said, "(After taking office) as Minister of Justice, I do not have the direct authority to cancel an indictment, and I have no intention at this time to instruct the prosecutor general to cancel the indictment."
Kim, meeting reporters in the morning as he arrived for his first day at the confirmation hearing preparation team office set up at the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, said, "By law, trial prosecutors have the authority to maintain indictments in individual cases."
Within the Democratic Party, Kim served as co-representative of "Gongchwimo," a group of lawmakers who argued for canceling the indictment in President Lee's case. Kim also joined as a co-sponsor of the "special counsel bill on the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's fabricated indictment." He explained, "As a member of the National Assembly, I conveyed the public's position that indictments fabricated through illegal investigations must be corrected by the state."
Kim is under suspicion of having, in 2021, at the request of a broker surnamed Yang, asked then Ministery of Food and Drug Safety Commissioner Kim Gang-lip to look after the approval of a clinical trial for a COVID-19 treatment by drugmaker Genencell. He received a suspension of indictment disposition in connection with the case.
He said, "Since 2021, prosecutors mobilized more than 10 prosecutors over three years for an intense, all-out investigation, but issued a non-indictment disposition," adding, "The reason was that it was hard to see it as an improper solicitation, and there were no improper acts such as favoritism, convenience, or skipping procedures in the approval process."
He continued, "They issued a suspension of indictment (disposition) on the grounds that I introduced a method of providing support," adding, "I thought even that was unfair, so last year I filed a constitutional complaint (to cancel the suspension of indictment disposition). I want to resolve that injustice to the end."
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon raised a suspicion that the Supreme Court did not accept a request to exclude from a warrant review a judge who had drinks with Kim in connection with the case. He said that the then planning and coordination chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office visited in person with a confidential letter to the Vice Administrator of the National Court Administration and asked to exclude a judge surnamed Jeong, the dedicated warrant judge at the Seoul Western District Court who was to review a warrant in Kim's new drug lobbying case.
To a question about this suspicion, Kim said, "The prosecution knows everything. I believe they issued a non-indictment disposition, that is, a suspension of indictment, because they reached the conclusion that there was no legal problem." An official at the Ministry of Justice said, "A suspension of indictment is a prosecutor's non-indictment disposition," adding, "It is not a guilty verdict through a court's deliberation or a confirmed criminal finding."
Asked about having defended sex crime cases multiple times in the past, Kim said, "First, it was a case retained by my law firm, and I was not substantially involved," and "Second, it was the case of a close acquaintance's nephew." He added, "That nephew committed the crime following older peers and was a minor," and said, "In such cases, consistent with my usual belief that it is good to have another chance, I took on the defense."
Kim said, "I humbly reflect on parts that do not meet the public's expectations," adding, "In line with my usual view, I will spare no effort to further guarantee and expand the rights of the socially vulnerable, people with disabilities, women, and seniors."