'Receiving tips from victims' groups linked to Kim'
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said Thursday that allegations that Ministry of Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won created a slush fund while serving as chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Province chapter amounted to "exactly the method corrupt companies used to build slush funds in the past."
Han made the remarks to reporters at the National Assembly that day, saying he understood the matter had already been raised within the Democratic Party and expressing doubt about whether it would be handled "fairly and justly."
"The scheme involved paying party staffers 2 million won ($1,460) more than their actual salaries and then funneling that extra amount back into a specific account," Han said. "It is absurd that he speaks about it as if it were someone else's problem. What makes anyone think he will not create a slush fund once he becomes minister?"
Han also raised allegations that Kim, after receiving a text message from a broker surnamed Yang in 2021, lobbied Kim Gang-lip, then head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to approve a clinical trial for Genencell's COVID-19 treatment.
"Around Oct. 6 or 7, 2021, I understand there was a request between Yang and the nominee to lobby the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding a new drug," Han said. He went on to say that Kim passed the request to Kim Gang-lip, who then checked on the progress through his staff, with the results relayed back to the nominee and Yang.
"Whether the clinical trial was approved was directly tied to investment decisions, and the share price moved significantly in the process," Han added. "I am also receiving tips that there is a victims' group related to this."
On the relationship among the nominee, a judge surnamed Jung and Yang, Han said what he had described was factual. "The nominee came to work Thursday morning and issued a statement Thursday calling it a routine constituent grievance matter," he said. "What truly disappointed me is that if he wants to become minister of justice, he should have at least come up with a better lie."
"If the allegations are true, he must not become minister of justice," Han said. "This person should not be going through a confirmation hearing for the ministry post — he should be facing a special prosecutor over this new drug lobbying." He added, "If someone like this becomes minister of justice, will Kim Seung-won's sisters from across the country not come flooding into the ministry?"
On President Lee Jae Myung's rationale for nominating Kim, Han said the intent was "to install someone at the Ministry of Justice who will push to withdraw the indictments in cases related to the president," noting that the minister could place prosecutors willing to comply with such demands in key posts through personnel decisions. Han called for the nomination to be withdrawn.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
