Kim Min-seok: Han Dong-hoon's 'attention-seeking politics' at core of illegal-document connection

Jeong Jeom-sik: Lobbying, stock manipulation scandal makes Kim Seung-won a 'landmine' for administration

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won answers questions from reporters Friday as he arrives at his confirmation hearing preparation office in the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won answers questions from reporters Friday as he arrives at his confirmation hearing preparation office in the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The ruling and opposition parties continued their last-minute political tug of war Friday, ahead of a "super week" of confirmation hearings for five Cabinet minister nominees, a Supreme Court justice nominee and the Special Inspector under President Lee Jae Myung's second-term Cabinet.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has ignited what he calls a "Democratic Party oppa lobbying gate" over allegations that Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won improperly lobbied on behalf of a COVID-19 drug developer, and the People Power Party has joined in, branding the process a "hearing with zero witnesses." The Democratic Party of Korea, in turn, has cast the affair as "prosecutorial cabinet politics" and is focusing its efforts on tracing how the documents were obtained, in an apparent bid to save Kim's nomination.

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok, speaking at a Supreme Council meeting held that day at the North Chungcheong Provincial Office in Cheongju, said, "I believe the 'Han Dong-hoon case' has now entered a stage where its essence and nature are becoming clear." He added, "The essence of the current situation is that the ongoing, effectively insurrectionary activity of the remnants of the prosecution resisting prosecutorial reform is being exposed by Han Dong-hoon's attention-seeking politics."

Kim warned that "whether by inferring illegal documents or knowingly using them, all of these actors are part of an illegal-document connection," adding, "we will root out and punish everyone in this illegal-document connection while we have the chance." He also said, "We simply need to proceed steadily with the hearing for nominee Kim," and, "There have been various smoke screens and attacks, including attacks by Rep. Han, but in the end the froth will clear and the truth will be revealed."

He continued, "Public sentiment that Rep. Han must be punished is growing," adding, "Even without my using the word 'out,' I believe the public has already reached that judgment." The remark referred again to a note reading "Han Dong-hoon out" that was spotted in Kim's notebook on the National Assembly floor recently.

The Democratic Party's shift toward an all-out offensive against Han is widely seen as reflecting the party's strong determination to prevent Kim's nomination from collapsing. A party official said, "The moment Rep. Han labeled this the Democratic Party's 'oppa lobbying,' it became an issue the party had to respond to at the party level."

Rep. Kim Ui-kyum, the Democratic Party's lead negotiator on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, appeared on YTN radio that day and warned, "The source of the recordings and other material Rep. Han disclosed appears to go beyond what could have been legally obtained." He added, "No matter how much Rep. Han tries to protect his source, it will come down to a handful of people, and it will become clear who leaked it."

The controversy stems from allegations that in 2021, Kim relayed a request from Kang, the head of COVID-19 drug developer Genencell, and a broker surnamed Yang, to Kim Kang-lip, then head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The dispute widened recently after it emerged that Kim had been in contact with the two men during a national audit session at the time.

It also came to light that the son of a presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court, identified by surname Jeong, who had rejected a detention warrant for Kang, had been hired as a legislative aide in Kim's Assembly office. Asked about this as he arrived at his confirmation hearing preparation office in the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that day, Kim said, "Because I have nothing to hide, I hired him openly as a legislative aide through a public interview process."

Regarding the drug-lobbying allegations, Kim said, "I had never even met the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in person. All I did was pass along one complaint and exchange a text message or two related to it." He added, "As a judge handling a constituent complaint, I judged that was well within what I could appropriately convey."

The People Power Party escalated its offensive, arguing that Kim's case warrants a parliamentary investigation and a special prosecutor rather than a confirmation hearing. Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik, speaking at a floor strategy meeting that day, criticized the allegations against Kim as "not simple personal wrongdoing," calling it "a gate involving lobbying and stock manipulation."

Jeong said, "President Lee Jae Myung picked Kim as a 'charge-erasing minister,' but Kim Seung-won has become a landmine for the administration." He added, "Nothing can be uncovered through a hearing with no witnesses. The allegations require a parliamentary investigation and a special prosecutor."

Adding to the ruling camp's burden is Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of gender equality and family, who has insisted on keeping her proportional representation Assembly seat. The confirmation hearing atmosphere grew tenser after Yong sharply criticized the People Power Party's "tantrum" Thursday and said even "some in the Democratic Party are being swept up in speculation and incitement." Some within the ruling party are even floating the possibility of not adopting confirmation hearing reports for the nominees. However, a minister can be appointed by the president regardless of whether the Assembly adopts such a report.

Public opinion has soured as vetting of Kim and Yong has proceeded. According to a Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 adults nationwide aged 18 and older conducted from Sept. 8-10, 22 percent of respondents said Kim was fit to serve as justice minister, while 43 percent said he was not. Thirty-six percent had no opinion.

For Yong, 13 percent of respondents said she was fit to serve as minister, 61 percent said she was not, and 26 percent had no opinion. By political leaning, 82 percent of conservative-leaning respondents and 65 percent of moderate respondents said Yong was unfit for the post. Even among progressive-leaning respondents, 49 percent — nearly half — said she was unfit. The poll had a 95 percent confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.


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