The prosecution has decided to transfer the suspicion that Mr. Myung Taek-kyun intervened in the People Power Party's nomination along with President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office for investigation. Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun has been additionally indicted on suspicion of leaking candidate site information from the Changwon National Industrial Complex to his siblings.
On the 17th, the Changwon District Prosecutor's Office special investigation team (Head of Team Lee Ji-hyung, Vice Administrator) announced the interim investigation results related to Mr. Myung's nomination intervention suspicion. It has been about two months since Mr. Myung and former lawmaker Kim were indicted on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act on December 3 last year.
Previously, the prosecution indicted Mr. Myung for allegedly receiving a donation of 80.7 million won in political funds by promising former lawmaker Kim that he would intervene in the June 2022 by-election for the National Assembly, citing his friendship with President Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee. Mr. Myung also allegedly received a total of 240 million won, 120 million won each, from prospective candidates Bae and Lee, who were preparing to run in the local elections in June 2022. He is also suspected of having instructed his brother-in-law to hide three mobile phones and one USB that recorded his conversations with President Yoon in anticipation of a prosecution search.
The prosecution has continued its investigation into the suspicions that President Yoon and his wife intervened in the People Power Party's nomination through Mr. Myung after his indictment. In connection with this suspicion, they conducted searches and seizures at 61 locations, including the People Power Party's headquarters, Gyeongnam Provincial Office, Changwon City Hall, and polling institutions. They have also summoned and investigated seven individuals, including lawmakers Lee Jun-seok, who served as the party leader in 2022, and Yoon Sang-hyun, who held the position of party nomination management chairman, as well as former lawmaker Ji Sang-wook, head of the Yeouido Institute, among over 100 individuals. The prosecution is also conducting a detailed analysis of the mobile phone that was voluntarily submitted by Mr. Myung.
However, the prosecution has not yet reached a conclusion regarding the nomination intervention allegations. They have decided to transfer all related suspicions to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office for further investigation. Mr. Myung is facing allegations of manipulating poll results during the public election and party primary process, providing these results free of charge to President Yoon's side, and that the polling expenses were covered by a third party. A prosecution official noted, "Most of those involved in the allegations reside outside of Changwon, primarily in Seoul, and the activities took place mainly in Seoul," and added that "the current investigation team will move to the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office to continue the investigation."
Meanwhile, the prosecution has indicted former lawmaker Kim on charges of leaking information about new candidate sites for the national industrial complex in Changwon to two of his siblings on January 20, 2023, without detention. The siblings who received the information from Kim purchased land and buildings near the candidate site for 340 million won. The two have been indicted without detention on charges of violating the Public Officials' Conflict of Interest Prevention Act.
Former lawmaker Kim has also been additionally indicted on charges of illegally receiving 40.5 million won in political funds. According to the prosecution, a corporate representative, identified as A, was found to have donated political funds to Kim under the guise of legal advisory fees. The prosecution believes that A decided to give the money as his son was about to enter politics and needed to make a good impression on Kim. Kim has also been additionally indicted on charges of fraud for wrongly claiming 20 million won to the National Assembly Secretariat for polling expenses even though he had never used such expenses. Kang Hae-kyung, who was the accounting officer for Kim, has also been indicted without detention on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and fraud.