(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Bal-eum = Justice Minister candidate Kim Seung-won explained on the 4th about the suspicion that he met with Mr. Yang, a broker involved in a case involving a request for approval of a new drug clinical trial, and the judge in charge of the warrant, saying, "I have never contacted or requested anything related to the case."
Candidate Kim's personnel hearing preparation team stated in explanatory materials that day, "I only ran into Judge Jeong and Mr. Yang by chance at a public private gathering around February 2022, and have not met or contacted them since."
When controversy arose when a photo of Mr. Yang, who requested candidate Kim to approve a clinical trial for a COVID-19 treatment in October 2021, and Judge Jeong, who was in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court, met at a restaurant around February 2022 and was taken together, was made public, candidate Kim came forward to explain.
It was discovered that Judge Jeong and candidate Kim were seniors and juniors at Seoul Law School and worked together at the Jeonju District Court in 2002 after passing the bar exam a year apart.
In December 2023, approximately 1 year and 10 months after the meeting, Judge Jeong dismissed the arrest warrant for Mr. Kang, CEO of Genencell, a COVID-19 treatment development company, on charges including attempted fraud.
Mr. Kang is a person in the political circles who asked Mr. Yang to help quickly approve clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment.
However, Candidate Kim stated that he had not contacted or met Judge Jeong since February 2022, when the photo was taken.
Broker Yang is said to have known candidate Kim since the 2000s.
Candidate Kim was also in charge of defending a case of violation of the Labor Standards Act by an entertainment bar run by Mr. Yang in 2013.
According to the prosecution's indictment, Mr. Yang had a close relationship with candidate Kim, to the point where he called him 'oppa' and 'eung (brother).'
Mr. Yang also posted a photo taken with Candidate Kim and Judge Jeong on his SNS (Social Network Service) and wrote that he attended the meeting after receiving a call from Candidate Kim while working overtime.
Previously, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon raised suspicions that in 2023, the then head of the Planning and Coordination Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office visited the Deputy Director of the National Court Administration and requested that Judge Jeong be excluded from reviewing the warrant for Mr. Kang's case, but the Supreme Court did not accept it.
He asked, "Was the reason for the request for exclusion because it was difficult to expect a fair warrant review due to Judge Jeong's special relationship with Candidate Kim and Mr. Yang?" and "Nevertheless, Judge Jeong was in charge of reviewing the warrant in that case, and was there any fact that he dismissed the arrest warrant for the owner of Genencell?"
In the process of investigating the case, the prosecution is said to have secured a photo of Candidate Kim with Mr. Yang and Judge Jeong, as well as a text message in which Candidate Kim said he was with Mr. Yang and called Chief Judge Jeong out for drinks.
When the arrest warrant for Mr. Kang was dismissed, the prosecution requested another warrant, and Mr. Kang was eventually arrested in January 2024 when another warrant judge issued a warrant.
Candidate Seung-won Kim's side refuted that he never had any influence on the trial, saying that past photos and warrant review were unrelated.
The preparation team said, “Judge Jeong was not involved in the review of the warrant in the case.
“The two arrest warrant requests for Mr. Yang were reviewed and dismissed by different warrant judges unrelated to Judge Jeong,” he said.
He continued, “The meeting took place approximately two years before the arrest warrant review for the people involved,” and “The candidate could not have anticipated the investigation or warrant request at the time, and was not aware of the fact that the arrest warrant request and dismissal was made in December 2023.”
Candidate Kim, a former judge, was investigated in October 2021 for requesting approval for a clinical trial of the treatment from then-Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Kang-lip at the request of Mr. Yang. However, the prosecution suspended indictment of Candidate Kim in December 2024, saying that there was no direct bribery and that it was difficult to determine the illegality of the solicitation.
