Hong Joon-keun: Kim Seung-won may have grounds for grievance, Yong Hye-in should understand young voters

Planning and Budget Minister Hong Joon-keun said Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won may have grounds to feel wronged amid allegations that he lobbied for the rapid approval of a COVID-19 drug clinical trial.

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He appears to have some grounds for grievance.

Speaking on YTN radio on Sept. 8, Hong noted that prosecutors had already issued a suspended indictment in the case during Shim Woo-jung’s tenure as prosecutor general. Kim allegedly asked then-Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Kang-lip in 2021 to speed approval of a clinical-trial plan for biotech company Genexel after a broker requested it. Prosecutors investigated him and issued a suspended indictment in 2024.

Hong said Han Dong-hoon’s recent release of call recordings and text messages involving Kim and the broker concerned material from a case that began when Han was justice minister. Hong questioned where the material came from and said Kim had expressed regret the previous day, calling aspects of the process inappropriate.

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As a young politician, she needs to understand the sentiments of younger people.

On Yong Hye-in, Hong said public opinion appeared to view her “excessive ambition” and “overreach” as conflicting with public sentiment, fairness and equity. He said the nominee should consider whether her position had helped provoke the controversy, including criticism among younger people that she had received excessive benefits.

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This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to take the initiative in an AI-driven industrial restructuring based on semiconductors.

Hong described next year’s 820 trillion won budget as the largest ever and said an unexpected increase in tax revenue from a semiconductor boom created a rare opportunity to lead an AI-driven industrial restructuring. He said bold, rapid investment was essential over the next one to two years. Hong also rejected criticism that the 162 trillion won Future Response Fund would be a discretionary pool, saying its operating plan would go to the National Assembly and remain subject to reporting, audits and oversight by a joint public-private committee.

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It is absolutely not discretionary money.