People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said, "Along with the Unification Church special counsel, we also need to conduct a special counsel into Democratic Party of Korea nomination bribery."
On Jan. 5, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Jang held a supreme council meeting and, regarding allegations of nomination donations involving former Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Kim Byung-kee and Rep. Kang Sun-woo, said this was "not an individual deviation but a deeply rooted nomination bribery cartel."
Jang said, "If you listen to the recording from the day Rep. Kang pleaded, 'Please spare me,' the former floor leader said, 'I can't help you, so return 100 million won.' If that had been done as said, we would not have come this far," adding, "But the next day Rep. Kang attended the nomination committee meeting and, violating the anti-nepotism principle, strongly pushed for the nomination of City Councilor Kim Kyung."
He continued, "For some reason, as if knowing something, the former floor leader quietly did not attend the nomination committee meeting," adding, "In the end, City Councilor Kim received a single-candidate nomination." He added, "We have no choice but to suspect that Rep. Kang had a reliable backer," and claimed, "It is clearly someone higher up who is more powerful than the former floor leader."
He said, "During the last general election, a petition accusing the former floor leader of corruption was delivered to Kim Hyun-ji, who was then an aide to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, and it was reported to the leader at the time, and there was testimony that this was confirmed," adding, "But without any action, the petition was passed to the former floor leader. We delivered all evidence and testimony to the police, but the police buried the investigation."
Floor leader Song Eon-seog also said, "In the 2024 general election, a petition claiming that local councilors took tens of millions of won in bribes was reportedly delivered to party leader Lee Jae-myung via aide Kim Hyun-ji, yet Councilor Kim Kyung was nominated as is," adding, "The practice of nomination bribery and the cartel of corrupt nominations occur every election, but we cannot entrust this to the police, who are connected to those in power. A special counsel is necessary."