Allegations center on request to speed new drug clinical trial approval
Seoul's Yeongdeungpo Police Station to handle the case
Police have launched a full-fledged investigation into a complaint alleging that Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won lobbied for the approval of a COVID-19 new drug.
Police said Tuesday that the complaint against Kim was assigned to the Yeongdeungpo Police Station at around 9:10 a.m. that morning.
"Two complaints were filed on Friday," Ko Beom-seok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular news briefing Monday, referring to the period since Kim's nomination. "Once a case is assigned, we will investigate in accordance with the law and procedure."
Police also said they are considering whether to reopen an earlier case. "We are only reviewing this in relation to the complaint," Ko said, explaining that "the legal review will be conducted jointly by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the station to which the case is assigned."
The civic group Committee for Countermeasures for Ordinary People's Livelihoods filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday, asking police to investigate Kim on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act, abuse of authority and violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. Former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Lee Jong-bae also filed a complaint against Kim and others with the agency the same day.
Kim is accused of receiving a solicitation in 2021 from Kang, the head of Genencell, a company developing a COVID-19 treatment, through a broker identified only by the surname Yang. He then allegedly asked Kim Gang-lip, then-commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to expedite approval of clinical trials for Genencell's treatment.
Prosecutors previously handled the new drug lobbying allegations in December 2024, issuing a decision to suspend indictment. Unlike a final court ruling, a suspended indictment does not bar reinvestigation, allowing police to decide whether to investigate the case again now that it has been assigned to them.
newday@heraldcorp.com
