{
  "id": 8372300,
  "title": "South Korea justice minister nominee withdraws over Covid-19 drug trial scandal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/south-korea-justice-minister-nominee-withdraws-over-covid-19-drug",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T03:17:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368088/south-korea-justice-minister-nominee-withdraws-over-covid-19-drug-trial-scandal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea's Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won has withdrawn his nomination over allegations surrounding his involvement in a Covid-19 treatment and approval of its clinical trials. Kim stated during a press conference at the National Assembly that he regretted failing to meet public expectations and requested forgiveness for his shortcomings. Kim denied the allegations against him. Lee Jae Myung, the incumbent Justice Minister, acknowledged failures in the cabinet candidate vetting process, admitting that unexpected issues continued to arise during the selection. Lee's approval ratings have been declining due to resistance to his policies and contentious reforms, as well as concerns over his cabinet nominees. The scandal involving Kim's nomination comes amid an unusually high attrition rate among Lee's cabinet nominees, with five failures since he took office last year.",
  "summary": "South Korea’s Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won withdrew his nomination on Saturday following allegations concerning his involvement in a Covid-19 treatment and approval of its clinical trials. “After much deliberation, I decided to step down as the nominee for minister of the justice ministry. I apologise for failing to live up to your expectations,” Kim said during a press conference at…",
  "key_points": [
    "South Korea's Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won withdraws over Covid-19 drug trial scandal.",
    "Kim stated regret and forgiveness during press conference, denied allegations.",
    "Incumbent Justice Minister Lee Jae Myung admits vetting process failures."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "South Korea leave Malaysian cagers chasing shadows in Asian Games blowout",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/south-korea-leave-malaysian-cagers-chasing-shadows-in-asian-games",
        "published": "2026-09-19T05:25:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}