The third round of questioning of a person surnamed Nam, a former aide to independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo who has been identified as a key figure in the alleged "100 million won nomination bribe," ended after about four hours. A face-to-face interrogation with Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung, who acknowledged delivering the 100 million won but flatly denied it was in exchange for a nomination, was reportedly under consideration, but the confrontation between Nam and Kim ultimately did not happen.
The Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Violent Crime Investigation Division summoned Nam, a former aide to Kang and former head of the district office, as a suspect on the afternoon of the 18th. It was the second consecutive day of summonses and the third questioning.
Nam, who appeared around 7 p.m. that day, left the building at about 11:10 p.m., roughly 4 hours and 10 minutes later, after completing questioning. Nam was asked questions such as "Did you first propose a nomination donation to City Council member Kim Kyung?" and "Did lawmaker Kang Sun-woo receive the money directly?" but did not answer and got into a car.
The questioning of City Council member Kim, who appeared at 10 a.m. that day, had not ended even past midnight. In particular, the face-to-face interrogation between Kim and Nam that had been expected that day was confirmed to have fallen through. A face-to-face interrogation is only possible with the consent of both parties. As a result, attention is likely to focus on the possibility of a three-way confrontation on the 20th involving lawmaker Kang, City Council member Kim, and Nam, following Kang's summons.
Thus far, Kim has told police that the so-called "nomination donation" was first proposed by Nam. He said that while he was weighing where to run ahead of the 2022 local elections, Nam explained Kang's situation and demanded an amount referred to as "one sheet."
But Nam is maintaining that he does not know about this. Nam is said to be sticking to his previous position, saying, "I never directly asked City Council member Kim for money," and "I didn't even know whether money exchanged hands while I was away."
However, lawmaker Kang's position is entirely different from both accounts. Through Kang's own social media, Kang has argued that the money transaction was solely between City Council member Kim and Nam, and that Kang was briefed after the fact and immediately ordered the money returned. Kang has also denied the allegation itself, saying, "I have never received any money."
Police plan to summon lawmaker Kang for questioning on the 20th. They are expected to press Kang on how the 100 million won donation was delivered and whether a nomination donation was proposed.