At the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun appeared and faced Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. The Democratic Party of Korea questioned Myung and escalated its offensive over Oh's alleged "proxy payment for a poll," while the People Power Party pointed out that Myung was hard to trust. Oh refused to answer, citing a cross-examination by prosecutors next month, while Myung raised his voice and showed irritation when faced with unfavorable questions.
The Public Administration and Security Committee held a National Assembly audit of Seoul at Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 23rd. Myung, who was adopted as a witness in connection with allegations against Oh, appeared at the audit. Oh is suspected of receiving help, including 13 unpublished opinion polls, from the Mirae Korea Research Institute, which Myung is alleged to actually own, during the April 7, 2021 mayoral by-election, and of having the survey expense paid on his behalf by Kim Han-jung, known as a sponsor.
At the audit, Myung continued testifying about the polling allegations related to Oh. When Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Kun-young, the ruling party's secretary, asked about the circumstances, Myung said, "(Oh) said he would buy me an apartment if he was elected mayor," and added, "My wife told me when I left home to bring back the apartment key from Oh Se-hoon."
Oh maintained silence on the allegations, saying, "I will not speak today (the 23rd) about the facts," in consideration of a cross-examination by the Kim Keon-hee special counsel team scheduled for the 8th of next month. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hae-sik criticized this, saying, "Isn't that petty?" But Oh countered, "You are asking politely, lawmaker, but you are infringing on my right to a fair trial."
During his remarks, Myung frequently raised his voice and showed irritation, drawing multiple cautions from Public Administration and Security Committee Chairperson Shin Jung-hoon. Democratic Party lawmakers who took the floor also struggled to rein in Myung's fast and lengthy answers.
In particular, Myung said, "I helped Oh Se-hoon because of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun," and claimed, "Isn't Kim Young-sun an 'old maid'? Love letters are coming out." Whenever unfavorable details arose, Myung responded, "Shall I expose it all," but did not answer when People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-heum, who chuckled, said, "Go ahead and say it."
A Seoul city official, responding to Myung's claim, said, "The text message that former lawmaker Kim reportedly sent to candidate Oh in 2021 was revealed during the prosecution's forensic process, and it was an appeal text sent to Oh quoting various literary poetic lines after candidate Oh refused to meet Myung (in February 2021), saying, 'Please be sure to meet Myung Tae-gyun.'"
The People Power Party criticized that with Myung's appearance, an important Seoul audit focused on issues such as housing supply had become a "venue for political strife." Seo Beom-soo, the opposition party's secretary from the People Power Party, said, "At the Gyeonggi Province audit yesterday (the 22nd), we said we should talk about provincial administration, but witness Myung Tae-gyun's remarks had nothing to do with provincial administration and did not fit within the scope of the audit," adding, "Democratic Party lawmaker Mo Kyung-jong even said yesterday that we should not turn the sacred audit chamber into a venue for political strife."
The Democratic Party, on the other hand, argued that because the witness was adopted by bipartisan agreement and decided by a committee vote, questioning would proceed as is. Chairperson Shin Jung-hoon said, "Because (Myung) is a witness adopted through a meeting, I believe we can fully ask (about the matter)." In response, People Power Party lawmaker Ko Dong-jin rebutted, "You say it is done by a committee decision, but because the People Power Party's numbers are weak, I have never seen (witness adoption) actually done through consultations between the two parties' secretaries. You should refrain from saying it was a committee decision."
Oh and Myung are expected to face each other again next month before the Kim Keon-hee special counsel. At a regular briefing in the afternoon, the Kim Keon-hee special counsel said, "In connection with Mayor Oh's alleged violation of the Political Funds Act, we plan to summon Mayor Oh as a suspect at 9 a.m. on Nov. 8 and conduct a cross-examination with Myung."