Prime Minister Nominee Minseok Kim Says He Recently Settled Private Debts with Bank Loan

Prime Minister nominee Minseok Kim addressed the controversy over the alleged "false loan agreements" and his private debts on the 17th, stating, "It was only recently that I was able to settle my private debts by taking out a bank loan."

Prime Minister nominee Minseok Kim is arriving at the hearing preparation office set up at the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Tonguidong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th. 2025.6.17 Photo by Yongjun Cho

On the morning of the same day, Kim wrote on his Facebook page, "The economic suffering I have endured, which began with targeted investigations, has been beyond imagination," explaining his situation in this way.

Previously, it was reported that in April 2018, while serving as the head of the Democratic Research Institute, Kim borrowed a total of 140 million won from 11 acquaintances but did not repay the loans until he was nominated as Prime Minister. In particular, on the same day, he wrote loan agreements with nine of them, each for 10 million won, with only the creditors differing but the format being identical. In response, the People Power Party raised suspicions that Kim may have effectively received illegal political funds in the form of "split donations."

Additionally, at the center of Kim's private debt issue is Kang Shinsung (age 68), a former regional chairperson of the Democratic Party. Kim borrowed 40 million won from Kang in April 2018 but had not repaid the loan until recently. In the past, Kim was convicted and fined for receiving 720 million won in illegal political funds from three acquaintances in 2010, and Kang was one of those three. Kang also served as the head of Kim's supporters' association during the 21st National Assembly.

Regarding this, Kim explained, "Facing the pressure of additional taxes, I ended up paying approximately 210 million won, which far exceeded the initial notice of about 120 million won. In my state of bad credit, I had no choice but to resolve the tax burden at once through private loans from acquaintances." He continued, "Around July 2017, as the pressure mounted, I felt I could no longer live like that and decided that the best and most legitimate way was to borrow 10 million won each from several people at once." He added, "Given my credit status at the time, there was no other option. That is why, in April 2018, I incurred debts of 10 million won each from several people on the same day under the same conditions. It is only natural that the loan agreements were in the same format."

He went on to say, "At that time, I had no political future, so I am still deeply grateful to those who lent me 10 million won each purely out of human compassion. From the beginning, I intended to pay only the interest to them and repay the principal after I had fully paid the surcharge."

Kim stated that he recently repaid these debts through a bank loan, but did not specify the exact timing. He also did not respond to related questions from reporters on his way to the Financial Supervisory Service office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that day.