Han Dong-hoon Tells Kim Seung-won: ‘Stop Running and Face a Special Counsel Probe’

Han Dong-hoon accused Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won of “effectively running away” instead of answering whether allegations against him were true. The dispute concerns a claimed request for approval of clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment developed by a pharmaceutical company.

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Effectively running away

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on September 3, Han referred to Kim’s earlier explanation that he had merely passed along a public-interest grievance, an action he said the law expressly allows lawmakers to perform. Han argued that Kim should clarify both the facts and their meaning now that the allegations had become public.

Han said Kim should face a special counsel investigation into possible drug lobbying rather than simply an appointment hearing. He revived a 2021 case in which Kim allegedly asked Kim Kang-lip, then head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to approve clinical trials after receiving a request from an acquaintance. Han had also demanded an explanation of text messages Kim allegedly sent to the former regulator, which Han disclosed the previous day.

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This person should not face a hearing on whether he should become justice minister, but a special counsel investigation into new-drug lobbying

The Democratic Party has argued that a suspension of indictment represents a prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute, not a court conviction or a final determination of criminal facts. Han replied that the key question was whether low-level lobbying occurred, not whether lawmakers should conduct a trial. He also attacked Kim’s statement that he had no direct authority to withdraw criminal charges and would not direct the prosecution through the prosecutor general, claiming President Lee Jae-myung nominated him because he could be ordered to cancel charges.

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You are not only greedy, but cowardly as well