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Friday, September 4, 2026 · UTC
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Kim Seung-won Accused of Bribery, Judicial Bias, and Party Fund Scandal
Prosecutors allege Kim Seung-won sought drug approval favors and had improper ties to the judge overseeing the warrant review.
TruthFoundry News Desk
As of 2026-09-04 00:09 UTC. Market figures are as the cited sources reported them at that time and may have moved since. This is news, not investment advice.
What this stands on
- Prosecutors filed an indictment on 2024-12-03 charging Kim Seung-won with bribery for allegedly using an intermediary to influence a Food and Drug Safety official regarding a new drug approval. ·
동아일보
- Kim Seung-won's inquiry team announced on 2026-04-03 that there is no evidence of him receiving political donations or gifts. ·
KyungHyangSinmun
- Seo Young-gyo, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Legislation and Justice Committee, stated on 2026-04-04 that the clinical trial bribery allegations against Kim Seung-won appear to be typical behavior among politicians. ·
- Kim Seung-won responded to the intermediary's request on 2021-10-08 with the Korean word 'Oke' (Okay) and later instructed the intermediary to ask the Food and Drug Safety official to process the matter quickly. ·
- Photos released by the intermediary Yang in February 2022 show Kim Seung-won posing with Judge Jung, who denied the arrest warrant for the drug company founder, raising concerns about judicial bias. ·
- The Food and Drug Safety Institute approved the clinical trial on 2021-10-17, nine days after Kim Seung-won met with the intermediary at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul. ·
- Kim Seung-won received a suspended prosecution ruling in December 2024 regarding the bribery allegations. ·
- Kim Seung-won was investigated in 2021 for soliciting expedited approval of a clinical trial for a Genentech COVID-19 treatment from then-Food and Drug Safety Institute Director Kim Kang-rim. ·
We could not place any of them by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
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