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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Kim Seung-won’s team releases call recording, says candidate never mentioned the presidential office to Yang

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

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

At a glance

News Documents & data Outcome reported
  • Kim Seung-won’s confirmation hearing team released recordings of calls involving Kim, businessman Yang and a founder of Jenencell to dispute allegations that Kim invoked the presidential office over a drug approval.
  • In Kim’s call, he said he would ask the Food and Drug Safety Minister to look into delays, while Yang later told the founder that Kim had referred to reporting through the presidential office.
  • Prosecutors ultimately did not charge Kim with abuse of authority and imposed a deferred indictment in December 2024 over other allegations, including a promised arranging bribe.

Kim Seung-won’s confirmation hearing team released call recordings to reject allegations that the nominee brought the presidential office into a dispute over approval of a new drug. The team says businessman Yang, described as a broker, exaggerated Kim’s remarks when speaking to the founder of Jenencell.

The controversy concerns a call on Oct. 12, 2021, after allegations surrounding lobbying for a COVID-19 treatment. In the recording released by Kim’s team, Kim asks Yang what he wanted after Yang said the drug’s data were the best in South Korea and that approval at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had been delayed.

Then I’ll say that they should look into it directly.

· Kim Seung-wonKim told Yang he would ask the Food and Drug Safety Minister to examine the delay in the drug approval process.

Kim then tells Yang, “Then I’ll say that they should look into it directly,” adding that he knew the ministry chief and would ask him to examine the matter and report on it. Four minutes later, Yang called the Jenencell founder and said he had spoken with “Representative Kim.” Yang told him that Kim had said a report should be submitted through the presidential office and that he would check with the ministry chief about the delay and its cause.

The data are the best in our country. You can really trust it.

· YangYang described the drug’s data and said approval at the ministry had been delayed.

Kim’s team argues that Kim never mentioned the presidential office in his own conversation with Yang, and that Yang inflated the account when relaying it to the founder. It also said court judgments and prosecutors’ stated reasons for not indicting had already confirmed that no improper solicitation or promise of a quid pro quo existed.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, which investigated the case, reportedly examined whether Kim could face an abuse-of-authority charge after obtaining the call referring to the presidential office. Prosecutors ultimately did not apply that charge. In December 2024, they deferred indictment on other allegations, including promising an arranging bribe.

I just spoke with Representative Kim, and he said to submit the report through the presidential office.

· YangYang made this statement to the Jenencell founder four minutes after speaking with Kim.
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.

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