Ruling Party Sinks Into Ministerial Nomination Quagmire Over Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in

The presidential office and the Democratic Party are facing what critics describe as an appointments quagmire, as controversies over two ministerial nominees continue without a clear exit.

Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister, faces allegations that he sought favors over a clinical trial for a new COVID-19 drug. Yong Hye-in, the nominee for minister of gender equality and family, faces a separate dispute over simultaneously holding a ministerial position and a proportional-representation seat in the National Assembly.

The presidential office has maintained that there will be no withdrawal before the confirmation hearings. The article says the prolonged controversy could become a dilemma that accelerates a decline in government approval ratings.

Kim rejected the allegations on the morning of the 7th while arriving at an office in Seoul’s Jongno district that had been prepared for the confirmation hearing. “I have never made an improper request to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the ministry’s review was not conducted unfairly because of it,” he said. He repeated his claim that there was no evidence the request itself was illegal or that it influenced the review’s outcome. The Democratic Party has also formed a dedicated team to mount a full defense of Kim, although the supplied article ends while discussing allegations that the clinical trial was fabricated.

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I have never made an improper request to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the ministry’s review was not conducted unfairly because of it.