“Seung-won Oppa Is Just the Beginning”... Han Dong-hoon: “Democratic Party Oppas Are Lined Up”

[Financial News] Allegations that Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister, solicited approval for a new drug’s clinical trial appear to be spreading throughout the Democratic Party of Korea. The opposition’s offensive has reached a peak after independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon released additional text messages between Yang, a broker at the center of the case, and a pharmaceutical company executive, directly naming former and current Democratic Party lawmakers.

On the 7th, Han Dong-hoon posted on social media, “More Democratic Party oppas are going to come out. The ‘Democratic Party oppas’ gate was what the oppa poison-lobby gate was really about,” and released text messages exchanged on October 8, 2021, between Kang, the founder of pharmaceutical company GENENCELL, and broker Yang.
According to the released conversation, Kang said, “The IND (Investigational New Drug application) must be approved before the 19th. I’d like to come see you when you have a moment.” Yang replied, “Rep. Choi is coming to our office tomorrow. Seung-won oppa says he has to finish up because of the parliamentary audit, but I’ll press Rep. Choi. Rep. Song Young-gil is a fox, so he only moves when he is paid.” Kang then asked, “When you see Rep. Choi, please tell him that all the documents requested by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety have been submitted and ask him to help secure approval that week.”
Yang continued, “I explained it to Seung-won oppa in the morning. He is the only one who mentioned the figure, saying that he expected 1 billion won but that it might not work out, so perhaps around 800 million won would be invested,” adding, “It wasn’t a fee or anything like that. They said they would invest.”
Citing the messages, Han criticized the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, “The Democratic Party is stubbornly calling the oppa poison lobbying a ‘public-interest complaint.’ Let the people decide whether it was truly in the public interest or a ‘fraud carried out by mobilizing Democratic Party oppas.’” He added, “Besides nominee Kim, the messages also mention ‘Rep. Choi’ and ‘Rep. Kim,’ as well as former party leader Song Young-gil, who defended Yang’s lobbying as a ‘good complaint.’”
Han further claimed, “There are indications that Rep. Choi was also involved in the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval, and there was also a mention to nominee Kim that Yang would gain profits worth 800 million to 1 billion won if the ministry granted approval.”

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea that day, Han directly responded to Kim’s call for him to appear at the confirmation hearing and explain the facts. Han said, “Since the person concerned wants it, I formally ask National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and other relevant officials to appoint me as a hearing committee member.”
He continued, “If a hearing is held, I will prevent the first convicted justice minister from taking office since the Provisional Government,” adding, “Lawmakers are entrusted with protecting righteous people and public-interest whistleblowers, so I will not be swayed by attempts to shake me through accusations or anything else.”
Regarding the background to the prosecution’s previous decision not to indict him, Han pointed to a change of government and a period of political upheaval. He said, “The Seoul Western District Public Prosecutors' Office’s proposed handling of the case at the time explicitly stated that it had found grounds for guilt and recommended seeking an eight-month prison sentence.” He raised suspicions, saying, “Even so, someone overturned it. Given that the country changed to the Democratic Party during that period, you can infer what happened.”
Kim’s side continues to maintain that there was no improper solicitation or receipt of quid pro quo payments. However, as Han’s successive disclosures of recordings and text messages have raised indications that other figures from the ruling camp may also be involved, the political standoff over Kim’s vetting is expanding into a major dispute between the ruling and opposition parties over an alleged gate.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter