Independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung were arrested on charges of giving and receiving 100 million won in nomination donations.
According to legal sources on the 4th, Lee Jong-rok, the warrant judge in charge at the Seoul Central District Court, late the previous night issued arrest warrants for the two on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and breach of trust bribery (for Rep. Kang) and bribery (for former council member Kim). The reason cited was concern over destruction of evidence.
In the 22nd National Assembly, Kang is the second sitting lawmaker to be arrested, after Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party. For Kang, the motion to arrest passed at the National Assembly plenary session on the 24th, with 164 in favor out of 263 present.
Kang and former council member Kim are accused of meeting at a hotel in Yongsan District, Seoul, in Jan. 2022, ahead of the 8th local elections, and exchanging a shopping bag containing 100 million won. Former city council member Kim was later given a sole nomination as a city council candidate in Gangseo District, Seoul, Kang's constituency, and was elected.
Kang appeared at court at about 2:15 p.m. the previous day to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (substantive warrant review). Kang said, "I apologize for causing public concern. I will faithfully explain myself in court." When reporters asked, "Is it true you took money in exchange for the nomination?" Kang did not answer.
Former city council member Kim also underwent a substantive warrant review in the same court at 10 a.m. the previous day.
At the warrant hearing that day, Kang was said to have emphasized that all money and valuables received from former city council member Kim had been returned, and that there was no risk of flight given Kang's status as a sitting lawmaker. The court, however, appeared not to accept this.
In Kim's case, although Kim showed cooperation with the investigation by submitting to police a voluntary confession that largely acknowledged the nomination donation allegations, Kim still failed to avoid arrest.
With the two now in custody, police are expected to focus on determining whether there was a quid pro quo for the nomination donation and how the funds were used. The investigation is also expected to pick up speed on allegations revealed during the probe of Kim's "split donations" and lobbying for nominations for the Gangseo District mayor and the Yeongdeungpo District mayor.