“Hundreds of Billions of Won the Moment MFDS Approves It”... Han Dong-hoon Releases Recording Alleging Kim Seung-won’s “New Drug Lobby”

[Financial News] A recording of a phone call has been released in which Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice, allegedly told a broker, in connection with suspicions of lobbying for a COVID-19 new drug, that “you can make hundreds of billions of won the moment the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety grants approval.”

According to the recording released on the 4th by independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, Kim Seung-won told broker Mr. Yang during a phone call on October 7, 2021, “You can make hundreds of billions of won the moment the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approves the clinical trial,” and added, “I need to hear the explanation, so send me the materials by email.” Kim was also reportedly heard mentioning that lobbying among pharmaceutical companies was intense.
Mr. Yang emailed Kim Seung-won materials on the status of the new drug’s development that same day. Five days later, Kim reportedly called Kim Kang-rip, then commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and said, “Please make sure the working-level officials can process the clinical-trial approval quickly.”
In a phone call on September 14 of the same year, Mr. Yang also told Kim Seung-won, “If the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety grants approval, that company will become a COVID-19 company, and it would also be good for you when you run in next year’s election.” At the time, Mr. Yang described Kang, the founder of GENENCELL, as “someone who could help you if he becomes the head of a listed company and gains easier access to funds.”
Han Dong-hoon claimed that the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, which investigated the allegations involving GENENCELL, summoned Kim Seung-won for questioning in August 2024 on suspicion of promising to accept a bribe for influence peddling. He further claimed that the office reported a plan to seek an eight-month prison sentence to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea, but that the plan was not accepted.
The “sentencing recommendation report” released by Han Dong-hoon stated that Kim Seung-won “conveyed a request to Kim Kang-rip, commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, for approval of clinical trials for GENENCELL’s COVID-19 treatment and promised to accept KRW 5 million as a political contribution in return.”
However, the prosecution leadership at the time reportedly decided not to indict Kim, taking into account factors including the fact that the contribution was not actually delivered to him.

Kim Seung-won’s side previously cited Article 5(2)(3) of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act—which provides that an elected public official’s delivery of a third party’s grievance petition for the public interest is an exception to improper solicitation—stating, “An elected public official’s act of conveying a third party’s grievance petition for the public interest is an exception to improper solicitation.”
It also stated, “We conveyed the matter to the commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety because we determined that the grievance concerning delays in the clinical-trial process served the public interest.”
Han Dong-hoon countered, “Is it the public interest that the Democratic Party of Korea talks about when Kim Seung-won responds, ‘You can make hundreds of billions of won,’ to a request from a broker from the entertainment-industry sector who called him ‘oppa’?”
The ruling and opposition parties are scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Kim Seung-won on the 15th.
[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter