Kim Min-seok: "Kim Seung-won is an increasingly convincing appointment"... Han Dong-hoon "Already out in the public’s judgment"

[Financial News] Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, publicly defended Kim Seung-won, the nominee for minister of justice, on the 11th, saying, "The more I look into it, the more I believe this was a good appointment. I will stand by him." He sharply criticized independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has repeatedly raised allegations that Kim Seung-won solicited favors for approval of a new drug clinical trial, saying, "In the judgment of the public, he is already on his way out."
At a Supreme Council meeting held at the Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Government that day, Kim said, "I believe we can proceed steadily with the confirmation hearing for Kim Seung-won," making the remarks.
Regarding Han Dong-hoon’s continued attacks on Kim Seung-won, including the release of recordings, Kim claimed, "The essence of the current situation is that the de facto continuing acts of insurrection by remnants of the prosecution forces resisting prosecution reform are being exposed through Han Dong-hoon’s attention-seeking politics."
He continued, "Whether they leaked illegal materials or knowingly used them, they are all part of an illegal-materials network," adding, "This illegal-materials network will all be identified and punished on this occasion."
Addressing Han Dong-hoon in particular, he said, "Public support is growing for the view that he must be punished," adding, "Even without my deliberately using the word 'out,' I believe that, in the public’s judgment, he is already on his way out."
Kim also rebutted criticism from Chin Jung-kwon, a professor at Dongyang University, who recently criticized the Democratic Party of Korea’s plan to expel one of its lawmakers, saying, "It seems Kim Min-seok is determined to turn Han Dong-hoon into YS (former President Kim Young-sam)." Kim said, "Some people, calling themselves commentators, make the absurd argument that attacking Han Dong-hoon will turn him into YS," and claimed, "This is a major distortion of history, an insult to President Kim Young-sam, and a grossly far-fetched comparison."
He continued, "President Kim Young-sam stood firm against dictatorship and upheld the spirit of May 18 as part of his identity, but people such as Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jin-sook ultimately bowed their heads to dictators like Chun Doo-hwan and Yoon Suk Yeol," he said critically.
By contrast, Kim did not separately mention Yong Hye-in, the nominee for minister of gender equality and family, who has been embroiled in controversy over concurrently holding a proportional-representation lawmaker’s seat and allegations that the party is being turned into a personal organization. This came as the Democratic Party of Korea leadership said it would "take a grave view from the public’s perspective" of Yong’s candidacy and was "urgently gathering" assessments and opinions from inside and outside the party, making the difference in the party’s treatment of Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in even more apparent.
Regarding reform of the criminal justice system, Kim said, "We will accelerate police reform," adding, "Neither the prosecution nor the police can abuse investigative authority."
Regarding the organizational structure of the Public Prosecution Office, he said he had personally conveyed the party’s position to Yun Ho-jung, minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, at a welcoming event for President Lee Jae-myung upon his return from a visit to France.
Kim said, "The party has declared that it will examine the organizational structure of the Public Prosecution Office so that the irreversibility of prosecution reform is not undermined, and I specifically asked the minister of the interior and safety to look closely into this matter," adding, "We will ensure that the reorganization of the Public Prosecution Office’s structure does not lead to misunderstanding, distortion, adverse effects, or backsliding."

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter