Kim protests inclusion of ineligible candidates for nomination
Prosecuted for 2012 daughter's regular position hiring request
"Pardoned after serving quietly... Isn't the burden over?"
Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seong-tae on the 7th called on the party to "clarify the rumors of a 'prearranged nomination scheme' circulating among the public and reveal the full truth."
At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office that morning, Kim said, "I, Kim Seong-tae, am not a 'recruitment corruption criminal.' I swear to heaven that I did not make any illicit requests."
He added, "Even in the prosecution investigation that thoroughly examined me, I was not even indicted for 'abuse of authority or obstruction of business.' Nowhere in the indictment is there a single word stating that 'Kim Seong-tae requested recruitment.' The prosecution only claimed that the regularization of my non-regular employee daughter was in exchange for withdrawing her adoption as a witness in the National Assembly audit," emphasizing this point.
Kim's statement came after the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee confirmed a total of 29 candidates, including Kim, as disqualified out of 849 applicants. Previously, Kim was indicted on charges including bribery for allegedly requesting the regular employment of his daughter in exchange for withdrawing the witness adoption of Lee Seok-chae, then chairman of KT, during the 2012 National Assembly audit. In February 2022, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of one year imprisonment with two years probation.
Although President Yoon Seok-yeol pardoned and reinstated Kim in December of the same year, the Nomination Committee defined personal and family irregularities in admissions, recruitment, military service, and nationality as the 'four major disqualifying corruptions' and decided to exclude those pardoned and reinstated from nominations, ultimately excluding him from the final nomination list.
Former Floor Leader Kim Sung-tae Heading to the Podium(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Han Jong-chan = Kim Sung-tae, former floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) and preliminary candidate for Gangseo-eul in Seoul, is heading to the podium at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the morning of February 7 to express his position regarding the disqualification decision for the 22nd general election nomination. 2024.2.7
saba@yna.co.kr
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Kim said, "Park Dae-su, an ungrateful junior from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions who had been lurking around Gangseo-eul since last year, had been talking about being 'cut off' for over a month already," and questioned the party's nomination scheme, saying, "How could Park, who lacks any insight, have predicted the future unless it was a premeditated plan?"
He continued, "To avoid becoming an obstacle to our party's victory in the general and presidential elections, I willingly declared myself the 'first not to run' in the 21st general election and chose to 'serve quietly' in the last presidential election. Even though I was pardoned, is this burden not yet over?"
He raised his voice, saying, "Where have all the difficult memories of holding together the crumbling party through fierce struggles during the harsh era of the Moon Jae-in administration, and the dedication and contributions I made by burning my whole body to reclaim power, gone?"
Former lawmaker Kim said, "Without clarifying all of this, I cannot understand this nomination. Even when a winning nomination is not enough, what is our party's nomination aiming for? It has lost its sense of purpose," and added, "My political decision depends on our party. I hope they answer my questions."
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