The whistleblower who reported allegations that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won improperly solicited regulators on behalf of drugmaker Genencell has filed a petition seeking a reopening of the case.
According to reporting by The Seoul Economic Daily on the 13th, the whistleblower, identified as A, submitted a petition to the Seoul Western District Prosecution Office on Sept. 28 asking it to reinvestigate and indict Kim on charges of promising to accept a bribe for mediation.
In October 2021, Kim received a request from Genencell founder Kang and broker Yang to expedite approval of clinical trials for the company's COVID-19 treatment, and relayed the request to then-Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Kang-lip. The ministry approved the clinical trial plan two weeks later.
The Seoul Western District Prosecution Office, which opened an investigation into Kim based on A's report, suspended the indictment in December 2024. Prosecutors found grounds to believe Kim had agreed to receive 5 million won in political donations in return for the mediation, but said it was "difficult to conclude that the request itself was unlawful."
Cases in which an indictment is suspended have not been the subject of a final court ruling, which means investigators can take them up again.
The allegations drew renewed attention after Kim was nominated as justice minister. A criminal complaint seeking an investigation into the matter has been filed with police, and that inquiry is under way.
A also filed an online petition with the National Assembly on the 13th calling for a revision to the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers that would bar prosecution for disclosure of official secrets when a person makes a case public in the public interest. The proposal would extend protection and immunity comparable to that given to whistleblowers to people who disclose how a case was handled for public-interest purposes.