(LEAD) Justice minister nominee denies illegal COVID-19 treatment lobbying allegations

SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Justice Minister, has firmly denied claims that he engaged in illegal lobbying for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021. While he acknowledged that he should have been more careful when making his request for the medication, Kim insisted that he never made an illegal solicitation to the food and drug ministry.

According to Kim, he called the food and drug safety minister at the time to expedite the treatment's clinical trial approval, as COVID-19 treatments were being prioritized during the pandemic. He added that the prosecution decided not to formally charge him due to the inability to definitively determine that his request was illegal solicitation.

Prosecutors confirmed that there was no unlawful solicitation or unfair review of the treatment's clinical trial approval, and no charges were brought against Kim or any public officials connected to the case. Kim has faced increasing scrutiny over the allegations, with independent Representative Han Dong-hoon releasing alleged recordings of Kim and a broker discussing the lobbying efforts.

Kim accused Han of leaking investigative material in a politically motivated attack and demanded that he appear at his confirmation hearing.