Independent lawmaker mounts SNS offensive on confirmation hearing day
'Which tears were sincere, Kim?'
'He'll hunt down whistleblowers once he's minister'
As the National Assembly confirmation hearing for Ministry of Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won got underway Tuesday, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon drew attention by mounting a fierce offensive against the nominee from outside the hearing room.
Han has positioned himself as Kim's chief critic since President Lee Jae Myung nominated him, and kept up the attack on the day of the hearing itself, posting a series of messages on Facebook.
When Kim said at the hearing that Han — who had raised allegations of lobbying on behalf of a pharmaceutical firm — was "a great enemy of democracy," Han rebuffed him sharply. "Kim Seung-won said at the hearing that Han Dong-hoon, who exposed the oppa-poison lobbying, is an enemy of democracy," Han wrote, using the term "oppa" — a Korean word for an older brother or male acquaintance, used here in reference to alleged intimate communications. "The real enemies of democracy are Kim Seung-won, the oppa-poison lobbyist, and those trying to install him as 'minister of justice.'"
Han was responding to remarks Kim made at the hearing in reply to Han's earlier allegations that Kim had sought to push through clinical trial approval for a COVID-19 drug developed by Genencell, a natural-product pharmaceutical firm. Kim said some of the materials Han submitted "fall outside the scope of the investigation related to me" and that "distorting and splicing together information to mislead public opinion is, I believe, a great enemy of democracy."
Han also pushed back hard on Kim's statement that it must be made clear how internal prosecutors' documents had made their way to Han.
"Kim Seung-won is swaggering like a gang boss, saying, 'I'll personally find out who reported my crimes once I become minister of justice,'" Han said, adding that "'oppa-poison lobbyist Kim Seung-won' is making a mockery of the Republic of Korea."
Han was targeting Kim's remarks at the hearing in which Kim said he could not confirm what personal information of investigated citizens was held in Ministry of Justice or prosecutors' files, and pledged to conduct a thorough review if confirmed as minister.
Han also took aim at Kim after the nominee shed tears during the hearing while explaining allegations of preferential treatment involving a cooperative where Kim's spouse and son work. "Kim Seung-won's tears — which tears were sincere?" Han wrote.
In a separate Facebook post, Han said the nominee shed tears from the morning during the hearing on Tuesday, and asked: "Are these Tuesday tears — or the tears from Feb. 9, 2022, when he said 'I miss room-salon broker Yang so-and-so and tears are falling from my eyes'?"
Han went on to reattach a transcript of a phone call he said Kim had with a person surnamed Yang on Feb. 9, 2022.
The transcript contained provocative expressions including "oppa" and "tears are falling from my eyes because I miss you."
In yet another post, Han took issue with Kim's response to questions about animal-test data for a COVID-19 treatment developed by Genencell — the pharmaceutical firm at the center of the lobbying allegations — after critics said the data had been fabricated. Kim said in effect: "I'm a humanities major. I have no way of knowing about the efficacy of a treatment."
"Does being a humanities major mean it's acceptable to do oppa lobbying to get a poison approved? Are you insulting humanities majors across the country?" Han said. "It's even worse that, despite 'not knowing because he's a humanities major,' he carried out poison lobbying at the direction of his younger sister broker."
Meanwhile, as Han led the scrutiny of Kim through a series of disclosures, voices within pro-Han circles of the People Power Party called for him to be included as a member of the confirmation hearing panel — but the party did not accept the proposal.
Han nonetheless kept up his offensive against the nominee outside the hearing room, drawing attention by posting a steady stream of messages on SNS throughout the day.
shindw@heraldcorp.com
