Prosecutors Indict Professor Developing COVID-19 Drug Over Alleged 식약처 Lobbying

Suspected of Offering Bribes Worth 900 Million Won

The prosecution investigating lobbying allegations involving a pharmaceutical company developing a COVID-19 treatment drug has indicted a professor who participated in the new drug development.

On the 8th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Jeong-hoon) arrested and indicted Professor Kang Mo of Kyung Hee University, who led the development of the COVID-19 treatment drug at pharmaceutical company G, on charges of breach of trust and obstruction of official duties by deception.

Professor Kang is suspected of lobbying for the approval of G's clinical trials. Additionally, the prosecution applied further charges including violation of the Capital Markets Act for trading stocks using undisclosed information about clinical trial approval, violation of the Patent Act and obstruction of business for obtaining patents from the Korean Intellectual Property Office with false experimental data and acquiring human subject research approval from medical institutions, and attempted fraud for trying to receive government support funds worth tens of billions of won by using the clinical trial approval.

Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office.
Photo by Yonhap News

The prosecution believes that in the second half of 2021, G requested Yang Mo (45), CEO of a daily necessities company, to help obtain clinical trial approval for the treatment drug, providing approximately 300 million KRW in cash and acquiring convertible bonds worth 600 million KRW from Yang's company, totaling about 900 million KRW in benefits. Professor Kang is reported to have been involved in the process of acquiring the convertible bonds.

In October of the same year, G received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for domestic phase 2 and 3 clinical trial plans. The prosecution has been investigating whether Yang acted as a broker and lobbied high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety through political and governmental connections during this process.

Previously, the prosecution secured a recorded conversation between Yang and an acquaintance, interpreted as Yang requesting approval permission from the then Minister of Food and Drug Safety through Democratic Party lawmaker A, despite the clinical trial approval not yet being granted.

A prosecution official stated, "We will do our best to maintain the prosecution so that the defendant receives a strict sentence commensurate with the crime, and we will conduct a strict and swift investigation into brokers and public officials involved in lobbying for clinical trial approval."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.