Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon challenged Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok over his assessment of former justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won, asking whether Kim still considered the nomination a good decision. Kim Min-seok had described the pick as "a better appointment the more you look at it."
"Kim Seung-won, who flatly denied knowing about the petition, is now said to have met the person who submitted it in person," Han wrote on Facebook. He added that the Democratic Party, which had rallied to defend the former nominee as "a better appointment the more you look at it" while he "lied every time he opened his mouth," should talk about Kim Seung-won rather than about Han Dong-hoon.
A news outlet reported earlier that a petition from former aides calling for the withdrawal of Kim Seung-won's nomination was delivered on the 17th to Hong Ihk-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, and others. The petition reportedly alleged that at a 2024 drinking gathering attended by Kim Seung-won, one participant protested being sexually harassed, and that Kim drove under the influence and verbally abused aides after drinking. Kim Seung-won stepped down voluntarily on the 19th after controversies including allegations of improper lobbying over a new drug.
Han raised further allegations about the former nominee at a press conference at the National Assembly the same day. Regarding the petition, he said he had "already confirmed that a substantial portion of the content is true," arguing that what matters is verifying the substance of the petition rather than simply whether it was received.
He alleged that sexual harassment had occurred and that there had been an attempt to cover it up, saying that "other Democratic Party lawmakers besides Kim Seung-won were also present at the scene of the harassment." He called on the party to identify the other lawmakers who were there and to take responsibility.
Han also said Kim Min-seok "must disclose when he received the tip," questioning whether the petition had been passed to the party leader before it reached the presidential office.
He continued his attack on the former nominee. "The Kim Seung-won affair is not over," Han said, arguing that efforts to assign responsibility and establish the truth were only beginning. Turning to the Democratic Party, he asked whether it was a party where "sexual harassment at a drinking party is no obstacle to becoming justice minister," demanding accountability from Kim Seung-won and the party lawmakers present at the gathering.
Han further argued that the Democratic Party would find it hard to escape responsibility if it had pushed ahead with the nomination despite knowing about the allegations. He also publicly asked whether the party's ethics committee had any intention of investigating the allegations, signaling further action over the various suspicions surrounding the former nominee.
