DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Han Dong-hoon says prosecution planned to indict Kim Seung-won and seek an eight-month sentence two years ago

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data In the courts
  • Han Dong-hoon says the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office planned in 2024 to indict Kim Seung-won over an alleged promise of a 5 million won donation.
  • The allegation concerns a request to speed approval of clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment developed by GenNCell.
  • Han says prosecutors also planned to seek an eight-month prison sentence, citing alleged illegal gains, public-health risks and a lack of remorse.

Han Dong-hoon says prosecutors planned to indict Kim Seung-won two years ago and seek an eight-month prison sentence, but the case did not proceed as planned. Kim is now a nominee for justice minister.

In a Facebook post on Sept. 4, Han said the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office summoned Kim in August 2024 on suspicion of promising an arranging-bribe. Han said the office later prepared a written prosecution plan and sent it to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the Ministry of Justice.

The allegation emerged during an investigation into GenNCell, a developer of COVID-19 treatments. The company’s largest shareholder allegedly asked businessman Yang, who had extensive political contacts, to help accelerate approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for a Phase 2 and 3 clinical trial. GenNCell was seeking investment worth 10 billion won at the time and wanted rapid approval.

Who stopped the Western District Prosecutors’ Office from indicting Kim Seung-won and seeking a prison sentence?

· Han Dong-hoonHan used the question as the title of his Facebook post alleging that prosecutors’ planned case did not proceed.

Han said Yang then asked Kim to intervene. Kim allegedly texted then-Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Gang-lip on Oct. 12, 2021, asking officials to process the company’s request quickly. The ministry approved GenNCell’s clinical-trial plan on Oct. 26 that year.

Han released what he described as part of a prosecution document. It allegedly listed Kim, then 54 and a lawmaker, with the disposition “indictment,” and said he had conveyed GenNCell’s request to the minister in exchange for a promised 5 million won donation. Han also presented prosecutors’ stated reasoning for seeking eight months in prison, including alleged illegal gains of about 11 billion won for the largest shareholder and 600 million won for Yang. The document reportedly cited the use of false materials, risks to public health and Kim’s denial of wrongdoing. It also said a conviction could cost Kim his parliamentary seat and eligibility to run for office.

Please ask the staff in charge to process it a little faster.

· Kim Seung-wonThe message Kim allegedly sent to then-Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Gang-lip about GenNCell’s clinical-trial approval.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog