# Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won Fires Back at Confirmation Hearing Over Lobbying Claims > At his National Assembly confirmation hearing, justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won apologized for the concern his case has caused while pledging to end the political use of investigative information, even as questions over a leak of prosecution materials to a rival lawmaker took center stage. - Source: Korea First - Canonical URL: https://koreafirst.tv/article/justice-minister-nominee-kim-seung-won-fires-back-at-confirmation-hearing-over-lobbying-claims - Author: Korea First Staff - Section: Politics - Published: 2026-09-15T13:32:15.867Z - Updated: 2026-09-15T13:32:15.867Z - Tags: Kim Seung-won, justice minister, confirmation hearing, Han Dong-hoon, prosecution reform, lobbying allegations - Korean edition: https://koreafirst.tv/ko/article/justice-minister-nominee-kim-seung-won-fires-back-at-confirmation-hearing-over-lobbying-claims --- Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won faced a National Assembly confirmation hearing on Tuesday dominated by lobbying allegations dating back nearly five years, pushing back against suspicions while promising to overhaul how investigative information moves through the political system if confirmed. ## The Allegations on the Table The central accusation traces to October 2021, when Kim, then a two-term lawmaker, is suspected of engaging in illegal lobbying to help a pharmaceutical company secure approval for a COVID-19 clinical drug trial. Prosecutors investigated the matter but ultimately suspended the indictment. A second allegation surfaced at the hearing involving Kim's wife, whose cooperative is suspected of receiving preferential treatment in a government-funded voucher program for children with developmental disabilities. ## Kim's Response Kim apologized directly for the controversy, telling lawmakers he was sorry for causing public concern over the suspicions involving him, while stopping short of a detailed rebuttal of the specific claims. He used the hearing instead to pivot toward a broader pledge, saying that if given the opportunity to serve as minister, he would correct the practice of the political use of investigative information, framing his own case as evidence of a systemic problem he intends to fix rather than simply a personal controversy to survive. ## A Second Front Over Leaked Materials The hearing also turned on an entirely separate dispute involving independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, a former prosecutor who disclosed investigation materials related to Kim's case. Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, who chaired the hearing, warned that if materials that should never have left the prosecution ended up in someone else's hands, that would be a serious crime, effectively putting the leak itself on trial alongside the original lobbying allegations. Kim pledged to investigate the alleged leak of confidential prosecution materials to Han if confirmed, adding a new inquiry to the list of commitments he made under questioning. ## A Hearing Opposition Called Hollow Not every lawmaker treated the session as a serious vetting process. Rep. Park Hyeung-soo of the main opposition People Power Party accused the ruling party of turning the proceedings into a hollow and inadequate hearing, suggesting the confirmation process was moving forward regardless of what the allegations might ultimately show. Kim closed by tying his personal case to his policy agenda, pledging to pursue prosecution reform and a new criminal justice system that separates investigative and prosecutorial powers, a structural change that, if pursued, would touch the same kind of information flow at the center of the allegations against him. --- Originally published by Korea First. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://koreafirst.tv/article/justice-minister-nominee-kim-seung-won-fires-back-at-confirmation-hearing-over-lobbying-claims.