Why did People Power Party lawmakers walk out of the committee meeting on Kim Seung-won’s confirmation report?

They protested the Democratic Party of Korea’s push to adopt the report without fully addressing allegations surrounding Kim Seung-won. PPP Rep. Park Hyeung-soo said the allegations raised during the hearing had not been resolved.

What is Kim Seung-won’s professional background before becoming justice minister nominee?

He is a two-term lawmaker who served as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court. He later worked in the presidential office under the Moon Jae-in administration and became the DPK’s legal affairs committee chief.

Parliamentary committee adopts confirmation hearing report for justice minister nominee

Q: What allegations were discussed at Kim Seung-won’s confirmation hearing?

The main dispute involved a claim that he illegally lobbied the food and drug safety ministry to speed up approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at a broker’s request. The DPK said Kim had already explained the matter during Tuesday’s hearing.

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Summary

A parliamentary committee adopted the confirmation hearing report for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won on Thursday amid objections from the main opposition People Power Party. PPP lawmakers walked out of the legislation and judiciary committee meeting, saying the allegations against Kim had not been resolved. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Kim had sufficiently explained himself at Tuesday’s hearing, including a claim that he illegally lobbied for faster approval of a COVID-19 treatment. Kim is a two-term lawmaker and former judge who previously worked in the presidential office under Moon Jae-in.

Key Facts

PPP Rep. Park Hyeung-soo said none of the allegations raised during the hearing had been resolved before lawmakers walked out.
The DPK said Kim had sufficiently explained the allegation that he illegally lobbied the food and drug safety ministry in 2021 at a broker’s request.
Kim served as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court before joining the presidential office under the Moon Jae-in administration.
Kim was elected to the 21st National Assembly in 2020 and later served as the DPK’s legal affairs committee chief.
He also played a key role in passing the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act as a ranking member of the legislation committee.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 17, 2026 1:46 pm KST

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won attends his parliamentary confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

A parliamentary committee on Thursday adopted a confirmation hearing report for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won amid objections from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

PPP lawmakers walked out of a plenary meeting of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee shortly after it began, protesting against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) push to adopt the report without fully addressing allegations surrounding Kim.

"None of the allegations raised during the hearing have been resolved," PPP Rep. Park Hyeung-soo said before walking out of the session.

The DPK argued that the nominee sufficiently explained himself during Tuesday's confirmation hearing, including claims that he illegally lobbied the food and drug safety ministry to speed up approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at a broker's request.

Kim, a two-term lawmaker, served as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court before joining the presidential office under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, where he worked in the office of political affairs.

He was elected to the 21st National Assembly in 2020 and later served as the DPK's legal affairs committee chief. He also played a key role in passing the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act as a ranking member of the legislation committee.

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