Parliamentary committee adopts confirmation hearing report for justice minister nominee

The parliamentary committee made a decision on Thursday to adopt a confirmation hearing report for the nomination of Justice Minister Kim Seung-won, despite objections from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The opposition lawmakers withdrew from the legislative and judicial committee's plenary meeting early on, objecting to the ruling Democratic Party's (DP) decision to move forward with the adoption of the report without thoroughly addressing the allegations against Kim.

Park Hyeung-soo, a representative of the PPP, stated that none of the allegations raised during the hearing had been resolved before departing from the session. The Democratic Party argued that the nominee sufficiently addressed their concerns during the confirmation hearing held on Tuesday, including the claims that Kim had illegally lobbied the Food and Drug Safety Ministry to expedite approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at the request of a broker.

Kim is a two-term lawmaker who previously held positions as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court. He also served as part of the presidential office under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, specifically in the office of political affairs. Kim was elected to the 21st National Assembly in 2020 and later served as the DP's chief on the legal affairs committee.