Justice Minister Nominee Reported to Police Over Alleged Lobbying of COVID-19 Drug Trial Approval
核心洞察
Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won has been reported to police over allegations of improperly lobbying regulators to approve a clinical trial for Genencell (搜索)'s COVID-19 (搜索) drug.
Former Seoul City Council member Lee Jong-bae filed the complaint against Kim and former Food and Drug Safety Ministry Commissioner Kim Kang-lip on charges including abuse of authority and anti-graft law violations.
Prosecutors previously suspended Kim's indictment in December 2024, but released recordings and text messages suggest a quid pro quo involving a promised political donation.
Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won has been reported to police over allegations that he improperly lobbied regulators to approve a clinical trial for a COVID-19 (搜索) drug developed by Genencell (搜索). Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul City Council member from the People Power Party, said on the 4th that he had filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency through the government's online petition portal against Kim and former Food and Drug Safety Ministry Commissioner Kim Kang-lip on charges including abuse of authority, violation of the anti-graft law, and dereliction of duty.
Kim is suspected of asking the then-commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in October 2021 to quickly approve a clinical trial plan, after receiving a request from Genencell (搜索), a COVID-19 (搜索) treatment developer. Prosecutors who investigated the case earlier suspended the indictment of Kim in December 2024.
Allegations of Improper Influence
According to Lee Jong-bae, a broker surnamed Yang called Kim, who was then a lawmaker, to tell him that Genencell (搜索) had attracted 30 billion won in investment and to ask for help. Kim then allegedly called the drug safety commissioner, and the ministry approved the clinical trial plan on the 26th of the same month.
"If Kim demanded rapid approval of Genencell (搜索)'s clinical trial plan at a stage when supplementary data and reviews of safety and efficacy had not been sufficiently completed, it could constitute a violation of the anti-graft law," Lee said.
Kim's confirmation hearing preparation team rejected the allegations a day earlier, saying he had "asked that clinical trial procedures for a domestic small and medium-sized enterprise not be unfairly delayed during the COVID-19 (搜索) pandemic." The team said he "did not request approval of the treatment, priority review, eased standards or the omission of procedures."
Recordings and Text Messages Suggest a Quid Pro Quo
Despite the nominee's rebuttal that it was merely "conveying a public-interest grievance," recordings and text messages suggesting a quid pro quo have been released one after another. Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon raised additional allegations by releasing text messages and call recordings between the parties involved.
In a phone call on Sept. 14, 2021, released by Han, Yang said, "A big investment company has joined, and if it turns into funding, it would be good for your election next year, and this person also seems likely to be a source of strength for you," to which Kim replied, "Then shall we meet right after Chuseok? I'll send you dates."
In an Oct. 7 call the same year, when Yang requested a meeting along with an explanation about the new drug, Kim responded, "The moment it gets approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, you can make hundreds of billions of won, can't you? That's why there's fierce lobbying, and since I need to hear an explanation, could you send me the materials by email to save time?"
The opposition takes issue with the fact that Kim agreed to a meeting and even requested materials immediately after the conversation about the economic benefits of Genencell (搜索)'s new drug, arguing that this directly contradicts the explanation that he merely conveyed a routine public-interest grievance.
Political Donation and Indictment Plan
The controversy grew further as text messages in which Yang asked Kim for his political fundraising committee account number came to light. The prosecution's indictment of Yang and Kang reportedly includes content showing that in December 2021, the two discussed a separate business matter and then asked Kim for his fundraising committee account number. A text message in which Kim attached the account number and replied "thank you" was also reportedly included.
A prosecution indictment plan document released by Han stated: "Conveyed to Kim Kang-lip (Minister of Food and Drug Safety) a request for approval of the clinical trial of the COVID-19 (搜索) treatment developed by Genencell (搜索) Co., and promised to receive 5 million won from Kang in the name of a political donation as compensation for the brokerage — promise of a bribe for brokerage." The document also specified a plan to indict Kim and seek an eight-month prison term.
Questions Over Warrant Review and Investor Losses
Questions also remain over the review of arrest warrants for those involved in the case. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office requested that Judge Jung, then in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court and reportedly acquainted with Kim, be excluded from the review, but the request was not accepted. Controversy has continued since it emerged that Judge Jung went on to reject the arrest warrant for Genencell (搜索) CEO Kang. Kim's side denied the allegations, saying he had met Judge Jung only once and that there was no special relationship, and noting that other judges handled the warrant review for Yang.
Voices claiming damages have also emerged from outside political circles. The claim is that small investors suffered losses as shares of Sejong Medical (搜索), formerly Genencell (搜索)'s largest shareholder, plunged the day after Genencell's clinical trial approval. A "public interest whistleblower's statement" released by People Power Party lawmaker Park Jung-hoon said, "I wish to reveal that this was the starting point of a massive capital crime that used the credibility of Sejong Medical, then a KOSDAQ-listed company, to defraud numerous small investors of their assets," adding that "the defendants held the arrogant conviction that 'approval was a foregone conclusion by whatever means necessary,' through lobbying and promises of bribes to a certain political figure and senior officials at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety."
With signs emerging that prosecutors had considered indictment and even a prison sentence recommendation, the background to the final decision to suspend Kim's indictment is expected to become a key point of contention at the confirmation hearing.