Kwon Young-se's Side Denies Involvement in 'China Business' Reports, Considers Legal Action

Kwon Young-se, Vice Chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, is delivering opening remarks at the 6th plenary meeting at the Transition Committee office in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 18th. / Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 19th, the camp of Kwon Young-se, nominee for Minister of Unification, denied reports that a corporation operated by his brother received 20 billion won in exchange for abandoning its business in China while Kwon was serving as ambassador to China.

Kwon's confirmation hearing support team expressed regret over the report in a press release on the same day and stated that they are considering legal action.

The support team pointed out, "It is inappropriate to report in a way that could cause misunderstanding of a connection merely because the period when the candidate served as ambassador to China overlaps with the time his brother's China business (TNPI HK) was being pursued, without any other specific and clear evidence."

They added, "The candidate's brother's pursuit of the China business is fundamentally unrelated to the candidate," and "The candidate does not know the specific details of the business."

The support team explained that, concerned about the possibility of misunderstanding, Kwon sold the shares of the corporation at the same price as the initial purchase price before being appointed ambassador to China to avoid conflicts of interest, and "has had no involvement in the operation of the corporation since the sale."

Regarding suspicions that Daehan Textile invested in the nominee's brother's Chinese corporation, they rebutted, "The investment decision was based on the company's own judgment," and "There is no basis for claims that the investment was made based on personal connections with the candidate."