South Korea's Food and Drug Safety Minister denies Genencell lobbying allegations

Oh Yu-kyung, the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, denied allegations of preferential treatment regarding the approval of a COVID-19 treatment by the biotech firm Genencell. During a National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee meeting, Oh addressed suspicions that Kim Seung-won, a nominee for Minister of Justice, had lobbied for the rapid approval of Genencell’s clinical trial plan.

Oh explained that the review process followed standard scientific protocols and rapid review programs designed for COVID-19 treatments, which aimed for a 15-day turnaround. She noted that the Genencell case took 11 days, consistent with the 10-day average for 45 other similar treatments reviewed at the time. Regarding the 14 requested supplementary items, Oh stated that the quick 8-day turnaround was possible because the requirements involved protocol modifications rather than new experiments.

Addressing concerns about deleted data involving hamster deaths during animal testing, Oh clarified that the hamsters were already infected with COVID-19. She attributed any failure to report such data to the founder of Genencell rather than Ministry officials, noting that the Ministry could not evaluate data that was not provided. Oh emphasized that previous investigations by prosecutors into the Ministry's staff regarding this matter had resulted in non-indictment.