{
  "id": 6087608,
  "title": "Justice minister nominee denies illegal COVID-19 treatment lobbying allegations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/justice-minister-nominee-denies-illegal-covid-19-treatment-lobbying-6087608",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-07T02:47:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20260907/justice-minister-nominee-denies-illegal-covid-19-treatment-lobbying-allegations"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won has firmly denied accusations of illegal lobbying for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021, admitting he should have handled his request more cautiously. The two-term lawmaker faced allegations of asking the then food and drug safety minister to expedite the treatment's clinical trial approval through a broker. Kim assured reporters that he never engaged in unlawful solicitation and that the food and drug ministry's review was not unfairly conducted as a result. He claimed his call to the food and drug safety minister aimed to prevent the drug from being unfairly delayed in clinical trial proceedings, given the accelerated pace of COVID-19 treatments during the pandemic. Prosecutors had previously deferred formally charging Kim after concluding his request could not be definitively deemed illegal.",
  "summary": "Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won on Monday denied allegations of illegal lobbying for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021, while acknowledging he should have been more careful in his request over the medication at the time. Kim, a two-term lawmaker, has faced accusations of unlawful solicitation for allegedly asking the then food and drug safety minister to speed up the treatment's clinical trial…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Justice minister nominee denies illegal COVID-19 treatment lobbying allegations",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/justice-minister-nominee-denies-illegal-covid-19-treatment-lobbying-6082721",
        "published": "2026-09-07T01:40:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Justice minister nominee denies illegal COVID-19 treatment lobbying allegations",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/justice-minister-nominee-denies-illegal-covid-19-treatment-lobbying",
        "published": "2026-09-07T02:07:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KBS World Radio",
        "title": "Justice Minister Nominee Denies Acting Improperly in Drug Trial Lobbying Case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/justice-minister-nominee-denies-acting-improperly-in-drug-trial",
        "published": "2026-09-07T02:18:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}