Park Jumin: "Myeong Taegyun's words are not baseless suspicions or exaggerations... Investigation is necessary"

Park Ju-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaking. Photo by Yonhap News

Park Ju-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding Myung Tae-kyun, a key figure in the allegations of Kim Geon-hee's interference in candidate selection, that "Myung's words are unlikely to be baseless suspicions or exaggerations" and added, "An investigation is necessary to uncover the clear truth."

On the 15th, Park said this on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' noting, "There are statements coming from Myung, and some of the people mentioned in those statements have either refuted or partially acknowledged them, which helps piece together the facts."

He continued, "When Myung was questioned about leaking the party membership list during the People Power Party's presidential primary for conducting opinion polls, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo responded, 'Who else could it be?' There are parts where the facts align through such remarks. It makes me think that these allegations might not be entirely baseless or mere bluster," adding, "An investigation or inquiry seems necessary. I don't understand why there hasn't been any movement."

Earlier, Roh Jong-myeon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, raised the possibility that a certain camp official might have handed over the list to the Future Korea Research Institute, a polling agency, which in October 2021 obtained phone numbers of about 568,000 delegates and party members of the People Power Party to conduct a 'next presidential election opinion poll.' However, Mayor Hong rebutted on Facebook the day before, stating that "the party membership lists given to candidates had already been publicly released for election promotion purposes, so external leakage of the membership list is impossible."

Park said, "If Myung conducted the opinion poll without compensation, it would violate the Political Funds Act, and if he interfered in candidate selection, it would constitute a violation of the Political Parties Act and an obstruction of the duties of a public party." He further explained, "Discovering a legal violation and the Democratic Party's judgment on grounds for impeachment are different from the party's political decision to proceed with impeachment. Impeachment is a very serious political act, so naturally, a certain process is required between determining grounds and actually moving forward with impeachment."