Opposition launches fierce offensive amid confirmation hearings, even alleging a 'Rat Poison Gate'... Democratic Party forms 'dedicated response team' for counterattack

[Financial News] The pan-opposition bloc is continuing its all-out offensive against the government and the ruling party. In particular, amid confirmation hearings for the cabinet reshuffle involving six ministries, they are relentlessly raising allegations against Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in, urging the "complete withdrawal of the reshuffle." Regarding nominee Kim, they have even gone so far as to label the incident a "Rat Poison Gate."
Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, pressured the government at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on the 7th, stating, "Not only must the nominations of Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in be withdrawn, but the entire cabinet reshuffle must also be completely withdrawn." He appears to be launching a fierce offensive, particularly by bringing to the forefront the recent allegations of lobbying for a new drug by Kim Seung-won and the controversies surrounding Yong Hye-in regarding an underground organization and a family-run party. Jang Dong-hyuk claimed, "Kim Seung-won's shameful 'brother bribery case' has been brought to light," adding, "A drug that causes laboratory rats to vomit blood and die nearly came to be released as a COVID-19 treatment. The lives of the people were almost lost due to this lobbying." During the meeting, claims were even raised that the allegations against Kim Seung-won extend beyond lobbying for new drug approval to a "Rat Poison Gate" linked to stock manipulation. He therefore urged Kim Seung-won to resign both as a ministerial nominee and as a lawmaker.
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon is also actively drawing attention to the issue by pursuing the vetting of Kim Seung-won. Han Dong-hoon had previously released transcripts regarding allegations that Kim Seung-won lobbied the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and on the 7th, he additionally disclosed text messages exchanged between a broker, Mr. Yang, and a pharmaceutical company CEO, Mr. Kang. He claimed, "More 'Democratic Party brothers' are coming out," adding, "There is also talk of Song Young-gil, who criticized me by calling Mr. Yang's lobbying a 'good petition.'" In response, Kim Seung-won countered that he had never made any improper requests to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and called Han Dong-hoon's actions "prosecution cabinet politics," stating that he "must appear as a witness at the confirmation hearing and take responsibility for what he said." Han Dong-hoon then urged National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Speaker Cho Jeong-sik to approve him as a member of the confirmation hearing committee.
The Democratic Party of Korea continued to defend Kim Seung-won by forming a dedicated response team that day. Senior Spokesperson Park Seong-jun met with reporters after a closed-door Supreme Council meeting and stated, "The party needs to actively respond to the negative campaigning against Kim Seung-won."
Regarding the criticism from the conservative opposition, the party defended Kim Seung-won, calling it a "strained argument."
Park Ji-won, a member of the Judiciary Committee, pointed out, "Fifteen prosecutors under Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Dong-hoon investigated Kim Seung-won for three years. If he had done something wrong, would they have sent him to prison instead of granting a deferred indictment?" He added, "They must first reveal why a deferred indictment was issued and where Han Dong-hoon obtained the transcript."
Meanwhile, Jang Dong-hyuk has set out to actively use the spreading allegations against the ministerial nominees as an opportunity to expand his support base. That day, he carried out a schedule opposing the consolidation of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. After attending a forum at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea in the morning titled "Collapsing National Security: Alternatives to Hasty Military Academy Consolidation," he visited the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy and held a meeting on the integration of the academies. He plans to visit the Republic of Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on the 11th.
Jang Dong-hyuk said at a meeting at the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy, "I cannot express in words how reckless the discussions on the hasty consolidation of the three military academies are and how much of a threat they pose to the future of the Republic of Korea."

[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter