Ahead of the 2022 local elections, Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung, who said the lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, then a nomination screening committee member of the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul chapter and now an independent, was given 100 million won, was reported to have submitted a written statement to police admitting the allegation.
According to police and others on the 9th, Kim wrote in a self-written statement that "100 million won was handed to Kang's side and later returned."
Earlier, after an audio recording suggesting a nomination donation was made public, Kang also said, "I was aware of the cash being delivered and immediately ordered it returned." The accounts of Council member Kim and lawmaker Kang match.
However, Kang's former aide, who was identified as having received and kept the 100 million won in cash from Kim's side, denied it, saying the aide knew nothing about it, leaving police needing further investigation.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit assigned the case on the 1st in which Kang and Kim were accused of bribery and is currently investigating. However, an in-person interview has not taken place as Kim left for the United States on the 31st of last month for personal reasons.
With even suspicions of a "flight-style departure" being raised about Kim, he was also spotted on Jan. 6 local time attending CES, the world's largest IT and home appliance trade show, in Las Vegas.