The pretrial date and bail hearing for Myung Tae-gyun are scheduled for the 23rd. Myung was indicted and detained on charges of receiving hundreds of millions of won from former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun and local election preliminary candidates in exchange for nominations for the June 1, 2022, by-election and local elections.
According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Changwon District Court's fourth criminal division will hold a pretrial hearing on the 23rd at 3 p.m. for Myung and four others, who are facing charges of violating the Political Funds Act. The pretrial hearing is held to identify and organize issues and evidence before the main trial date, usually when there are many contentious issues in a case. Myung's side plans to focus on the bail hearing also being held that day in an effort to secure release.
The defendants in this case include Myung, former lawmaker Kim, former Future Korea Research Institute director Kim Tae-yeol, and two individuals, A and B, who ran as preliminary candidates in the June 1 local elections for the positions of head of Goryeong County, North Gyeongsang Province, and Daegu City Council.
Myung was indicted and detained on charges of receiving 8.7 million won from August 2022 to November 2023 related to the recommendation of former lawmaker Kim as a candidate for the National Assembly election in Changwon Ichang, South Gyeongsang Province—through Kang Hye-gyeong, Kim's accountant. He is also accused of receiving 240 million won from individuals A and B related to local election candidacy recommendations at the time.
Once the pretrial process concludes, the bail hearing requested by Myung's side will follow. Myung's side submitted a bail request to the court on the 5th citing that Myung is not charged with a crime warranting death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of more than ten years, poses no risk of evidence destruction or flight, and has knee health issues.
Myung's side argues that the concern for evidence destruction, cited as the reason for detention, no longer applies, and bail should be granted. Prosecutors are analyzing the so-called 'golden phone,' a phone reportedly submitted by Myung, including recorded calls and KakaoTalk messages.