Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won withdrew on his own accord nine years after a fit-for-duty confirmation report — wait, nine years after the last such case

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won held a press conference at the National Assembly's communications hall on the 19th and stepped down from his nomination. It is a rare case of a nominee withdrawing voluntarily after the National Assembly adopted a confirmation hearing report recommending his approval; the last time a minister nominee quit on his own after such a report was adopted was in 2017, when former SMEs and Startups Minister nominee Park Sung-jin stepped down — nine years ago.

Park's case differed in circumstances: at the time, even the then-ruling Democratic Party pressed for his resignation and effectively acquiesced to the adoption of a report finding him unfit, whereas Kim withdrew on his own while the ruling party shielded him after proactively adopting a report deeming him qualified.

Kim was nominated as justice minister on the 30th of last month. Despite suspicions that he had lobbied for approval of a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial and that his spouse's social cooperative received improper favors, party leader Lee Min-seok maintained a defensive stance, saying, "The more I look into him, the more I judge it to be a good appointment." The nomination went through a confirmation hearing on the 15th, and on the 17th the party adopted a hearing report with a favorable opinion.

Regarding his resignation, the Democratic Party called it "a model of self-sacrifice" and "the attitude of a true public servant who put the nation and its people first." After wrapping up his resignation press conference, Kim left the Assembly's communications hall without answering reporters' questions.