Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won Denies Intention to Withdraw President's Indictments

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won on Thursday denied any intention to order the withdrawal of indictments against President Lee Jae Myung if he takes office, saying the position has no direct authority over such matters.

Kim, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), has faced criticism from the main opposition People Power Party over his involvement in a group of DP lawmakers calling for dropping Lee's criminal indictments.

"The justice minister has no direct authority and I have no intent to issue orders through the prosecutor general," Kim told reporters when asked about the issue. "Prosecutors have the authority over maintaining indictments in individual cases, so I will respect that."

He explained his involvement in the group was intended to convey the public's stance to correct wrongs in cases brought by the state through "illegal" investigations.

Kim has called for cancelling Lee's indictments, claiming they were brought by politically motivated prosecutors.

Lee had faced multiple criminal trials before his presidential election in June last year. The trials have been postponed as sitting presidents are exempt from criminal prosecution except in the case of insurrection or treason.

The cases are related to charges of making false statements ahead of the 2022 presidential election, corruption related to a development project undertaken during his time as Seongnam mayor, embezzlement of provincial funds during his time as Gyeonggi governor and subornation of perjury.

Additionally, Kim addressed allegations of lobbying for a COVID-19 medication in 2021.

Prosecutors earlier deferred indicting Kim over allegations of asking the then food and drug safety minister to expedite proceedings for the medication's approval.

The prosecution closed the case with a suspension of indictment after determining Kim's request could not be definitively characterized as illegal solicitation.

"It was a request during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine a small domestic company's clinical trial proceedings so that they wouldn't be unfairly delayed," Kim's confirmation hearing preparation team said in a press notice.

The team described his actions as simply delivering a public interest grievance, adding that he did not receive any political donation or valuables in return.