Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of the Ministry of Justice, said on the 3rd that allegations he was involved in lobbying over a COVID-19 treatment were unfounded, saying it was "a simple relay of a public-interest grievance petition, not a request to approve a treatment."
The nominee's confirmation hearing preparation team said in a media notice distributed that day, "Forwarding petitions to address public grievances is explicitly permitted even under the anti-graft law for National Assembly members," making this claim.
Kim is suspected of having, in 2021, at the request of a broker surnamed Yang, asked then Minister of the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety Kim Gang-lip to look after a clinical trial approval for a COVID-19 treatment by drugmaker Genencell. Kim received a suspension of indictment in connection with the case.
Regarding the lobbying allegation, the preparation team said, "During the COVID pandemic, the request was to check that the clinical trial process for a domestic small and midsize company was not being unfairly delayed," and added, "There was no demand for treatment approval, priority review, easing of standards, or skipping procedures." It continued, "Seven employees of the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety testified there was no separate instruction or special report from the Minister."
The preparation team also said, "Prosecutors, considering the COVID pandemic at the time, determined that a request to promptly process an approval for a clinical trial plan alone made it difficult to conclude that 'the lobbying itself was illegal,'" adding, "They also stated that no unusual rule or manual violations were identified in the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety's review process." It continued, "In reality, the nominee did not receive political donations, money, or entertainment."
On the suspension of indictment Kim received, the preparation team said, "It is a prosecutor's non-indictment disposition," and added, "It is not a guilty verdict through court proceedings or a confirmed criminal fact." They also said, "The suspension of indictment was made under the legal and prosecutorial leadership appointed by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration." Kim filed a constitutional complaint in May last year seeking to cancel the suspension of indictment.
The opposition camp is raising allegations related to Kim's COVID treatment case. According to details disclosed by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, after receiving a request from the broker Yang, Kim contacted the former Minister on Oct. 12 and said, "Work is divided among three units: the herbal medicines division, the clinical systems division, and the statistics analysis team. Please help the working-level staff process it a bit faster," adding, "The company is A. I am also concerned about capital outflow, so I am telling you."
That same day, the former Minister replied, "We are proceeding with the matter you were concerned about, including supplementing materials with the company. I relayed it to the working-level team to take good care of it." The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety approved phase 2/3 clinical trial plans for the treatment two weeks later, on the 26th of the same month. Lawmaker Han said, "Initially, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety judged Genencell's application insufficient and requested supplementation, but due to lawmaker Kim's lobbying and the MFDS head's actions, they approved a dangerous new drug before the 'supplementation request period' came due," adding, "Kim Seung-won's lobbying was highly successful lobbying."
Yang is said to have run an entertainment bar in Gangnam, Seoul. In 2013, Kim also represented a case involving a violation of the Labor Standards Act that occurred at this entertainment bar Yang operated.
Yang is said to have told a professor surnamed Kang, who was then chair of Genencell, "Please provide a 5 million won donation to Kim, who helped," and referred to Kim as "oppa."