"Oppa, I’ll come running"—Han Dong-hoon’s released call recording sparks uproar; Democratic Party demands, "Reveal its source"

[Financial News] The controversy is growing after independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon released on the 5th a recording of a phone call between Kim Seung-won, the nominee for minister of justice, and broker Yang, who was implicated in a case involving an alleged solicitation for approval of a clinical trial for a new drug. Kim had previously explained that a February 2022 photograph of him with Yang and the judge handling the warrant had resulted from "running into each other by chance." However, after releasing the recording, Han countered that it was a "brazen lie."
According to the recording, during a call with Yang on February 9, 2022, when Kim was a first-term lawmaker, Kim said, "Brother, I miss you so much that I’m just tearing up." Yang replied, "Oppa, I’ll come running right now. Where are you?"
When Kim said, "I’m in Yeouido," Yang answered, "I’m in Hanam-si, and I’ll arrive in an hour. Is that still okay? I’ll leave right now, so give me the address."
Kim then said, "Wait a moment... Ah, it’s also the season for court personnel appointments, so..." Yang replied, "Oh, is that too long?" Kim soon responded, "I’ll wait."
In a second call made the same day, Kim said, "It would be a shame if we could only see each other for 20 to 30 minutes," while Yang remarked, "I won’t be disappointed. I’m bringing plenty of things, so just wait there for now." Kim replied, "Okay, okay, I’ll stay here."
In another Facebook post, Han also uploaded a recording of a call between Yang and another person from October 2021. In the recording, concerning allegations that Yang had solicited approval for a new-drug clinical trial, Yang said, "When it comes to getting the approvals cleared, it’s Oppa Seung-won," adding, "Oppa Seung-won talked to the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and today he also said, ‘Should I push it with the Ministry of Health and Welfare? The sponsorship is only 5 million won, so you need to do well. Everything is moving because of you.’"
Han also reposted an excerpt from a recording he had previously released, dated September 14, 2021, of a conversation between Kim and Yang. In the excerpt, Yang said, "If this can be turned into funds, it would also be good for Oppa’s election next year."
Han went further, criticizing them by saying, "The private abuse of public power is corruption." He added, "The Democratic Party of Korea says it was a good thing to lobby for approval of poison to make the room-salon younger sister a huge success, while the president who nominated Kim Seung-won despite knowing all of this is a corrupt political force."
Kim, a former judge, was investigated on suspicion of asking Kim Gang-lip, then head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to approve the clinical trial of the treatment in October 2021 at Yang’s request. However, prosecutors suspended indictment against Kim in December 2024, saying there had been no direct exchange of money and that it was difficult to conclusively determine that the solicitation was illegal. Controversy later arose after a photograph became public showing Kim, broker Yang, and Judge Jeong, who handled warrants, together around February 2022. In response, Kim’s personnel-hearing preparation team said the previous day, "Judge Jeong was not involved in reviewing the warrant in this case. The two applications for arrest warrants for Yang were reviewed and rejected by different judges in charge of warrants, unrelated to Judge Jeong."
Seo Young-kyo, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, urged that "there must be no case in which a person is forced to file a constitutional complaint because a suspension of indictment is used as a noose in a case that should have been deemed to involve no charges." Seo and Kim, a former judge, have been policy allies within the Democratic Party of Korea, jointly pursuing legislation on prosecutorial reform and the adjustment of investigative powers.
Some lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea called on independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon to clearly explain how he obtained the recordings. Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi wrote on Facebook that day, "They appear to be internal materials that would be difficult to access unless they were provided by one of the parties involved or came from an investigative agency." He asked, "Could prosecutorial investigation materials have somehow reached lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, a former prosecutor and former minister of justice?"
Lawmaker Moon Geum-joo also wrote on Facebook, "Han Dong-hoon is something else. We are all members of the National Assembly, so how does he have recordings of private conversations between other people? Is it because he used to be the minister of justice and has connections with the prosecution? I wonder what else might be in his cabinet." Han responded on Facebook, "As you know, the Democratic Party of Korea specializes in releasing recordings. The people who released all kinds of recordings, including the recording of prosecutor Park Sang-yong, are making a fuss asking where this recording came from. What a comedy."
[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter