Minister nominee Kim Seung-won said about a person surnamed Yang, identified as a broker in the "COVID-19 new drug clinical trial approval lobbying allegation," that "I first came to know (Yang) as a customer at places lawyers often go, like restaurants and cafes."
Kim, speaking to reporters on the way to work at the Insadong hearing preparation team office set up at Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the morning, responded to a question that said, "There are concerns about your relationship with Yang, who called the nominee 'oppa.' Looking at the call content and released photos, some say your explanation that you ran into each other by chance is not convincing. What is your relationship?"
Kim said, "After getting to know (Yang) at a restaurant or cafe, there was no particular interaction, and I later took on a case involving a violation of the Labor Standards Act," adding, "Since 2014, according to a Naver search, she has served as the head of a small and medium-sized company that manufactures and sells women's products while pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at Kyunghee University, so I respect her as a successful woman entrepreneur." Kim added, "It is true we have remained close juniors and seniors."
Asked, "Do you see no problem with a warrant judge surnamed Jeong, known to be close with Yang, dismissing the warrant for Genexine founder Kang?" Kim said, "I do not know the details, but I believe it was handled appropriately according to law and procedure."
People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo raised allegations related to a social cooperative where Kim's spouse serves as director. He said Kim's eldest son and younger daughter work at the cooperative and received more than 300 million won in wages out of 880.09 million won in government voucher revenue over the past four years.
Kim said, "My wife graduated from the special education department at Ewha Womans University and was a teacher for children with developmental disabilities," adding, "It is difficult to open a school for children with developmental disabilities. It was originally in Gogi-ri, Yongin, but when the lease expired, the education institution was moved to Dongnam Health University, which has an occupational therapy department, and she said that is where they first applied for vouchers." He added that they moved into a space at Dongnam Health University that had become vacant due to flood damage.
He went on, "On a monthly basis, the net take-home pay from voucher revenue is about 2.7 million to 2.8 million won for my son, and around 4 million won for my wife," adding, "My wife also personally drove the children to and from the center."
Kim said, "The People Power Party is misleading the public as if my wife is running the center like a family company," adding, "It is not easy to hire teachers for schools for children with developmental disabilities. The children bite, scratch, and act unpredictably. I hope such places are not denigrated." He also said, "If lawmaker Joo Jin-woo were told to take care of children there for a monthly salary of 2.7 million won, I wonder if he would run away in less than a week."
Kim was fined 700,000 won for drunk driving in 2008. Regarding not submitting this in the Democratic Party's nomination screening process, Kim said, "When the Korean National Police Agency issues a criminal record, I understand that amounts of 1 million won or less are not recorded," adding, "Please take that into consideration."
After reporting to the hearing preparation team on the 3rd, Kim met with reporters for the second time that day. Kim said, "Last week, a close family member fell into critical condition, and I handled several measures from the emergency room to the intensive care unit," adding, "In the afternoon, I went to the office, received normal briefings, and returned to work."