{
  "id": 7495988,
  "title": "Justice minister nominee hits back over lobbying allegations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/justice-minister-nominee-hits-back-over-lobbying-allegations-7495988",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T07:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20260915/justice-minister-nominee-hits-back-over-lobbying-allegations"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Justice minister candidate Kim Seung-won defended himself against lobbying allegations on Tuesday, vowing to stop political exploitation of police or prosecution investigation findings if confirmed in the role. The nominee's stance came in response to Rep. Han Dong-hoon's disclosure of probe materials alleging illegal lobbying by Kim. As a former prosecutor, Han should explain his methods for obtaining the investigation materials, Kim insisted during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly. Kim, a two-term lawmaker, faced suspicion for leveraging his influence to back a pharmaceutical company's COVID-19 clinical drug trial approval in October 2021, though prosecutors later dropped the indictment after a probe. Han revived the accusation following Kim's nomination announcement, leading the Justice Ministry nominee and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to argue that Han sourced the claim improperly.",
  "summary": "Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won said Tuesday, that if he is appointed, he will prevent information about an investigation by the police or prosecution from being “used politically.” His pledge is an apparent counterattack against independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon’s disclosure of probe materials about Kim’s alleged illegal lobbying activities. The justice minister nominee said Han, a former…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "KBS World Radio",
        "title": "Rival Parties Clash over Allegations against Justice Minister Nominee",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/rival-parties-clash-over-allegations-against-justice-minister-nominee",
        "published": "2026-09-15T06:07:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Justice minister nominee hits back over lobbying allegations",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/justice-minister-nominee-hits-back-over-lobbying-allegations",
        "published": "2026-09-15T07:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}