Prosecutors Shifted Toward Suspending Charges Against Kim Seung-won After Leadership Change

The prosecution’s position on allegations involving Kim Seung-won changed sharply after the leadership of the prosecution service was replaced, according to the report.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office investigated for a year from 2023 allegations that Kim had sought help securing approval for a clinical trial of a COVID-19 drug. Around August 2024, the office reportedly submitted an opinion favoring prosecution and sought an eight-month prison sentence.

The investigation team changed direction three months after the prosecution’s senior leadership was replaced in September. It then submitted a final opinion to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office that leaned toward suspending prosecution. Following reports to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, prosecutors decided on Dec. 27, 2024, not to prosecute Kim. The decision came eight days after the first-instance ruling in the case involving Kang, the founder of drug developer GenNCell.

The investigation began around November 2022 after a public-interest whistleblower reported allegations that Kang had used Yang, an acquaintance of Kim, to make improper requests to lawmakers and others in an effort to secure approval for GenNCell’s COVID-19 treatment trial. The report says police are now examining the matter again after Kim’s nomination as a candidate for justice minister revived the allegations.

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Kang used Yang to make improper requests to lawmakers and others in order to obtain approval for a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial.