Prosecution Secures Statement from Myung Tae-kyun Claiming "Received Money from First Lady Kim Keon-hee"

The prosecution is reported to have secured a statement from political broker Myung Tae-gyun claiming that he received an envelope of money from First Lady Kim Geon-hee.

According to the legal community on the 12th, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Ji-hyung) recently summoned Myung for questioning and confirmed circumstances in which he received an envelope of money from the First Lady.

Myung is known to have stated that he received the envelope as transportation expenses in response to the prosecution's presentation of a photo of the money envelope.

Key informant and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun's accounting officer Kang Hye-kyung testified to the prosecution that Myung boasted after receiving 5 million won from the First Lady.

Kang claimed that Myung conducted public opinion polls for President Yoon Seok-youl ahead of the 22nd presidential election, amounting to approximately 375 million won over 81 occasions. She also said that through her acquaintance with the First Lady, Myung was promised nomination for the by-election of former lawmaker Kim.

Myeong Tae-gyun, a key figure in the case involving allegations of Kim Geon-hee's interference in candidate selection and the illegal opinion poll conducted by the Future Korea Research Institute, is seen leaving the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam Province on the afternoon of the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News

Based on the testimonies of Myung and Kang, the prosecution is reportedly investigating the specific purpose of the money transferred by the First Lady, including whether it is related to President Yoon's public opinion polls.

Meanwhile, the prosecution filed arrest warrants the previous day against Myung, former lawmaker Kim, and two preliminary candidates for the June 1, 2022 local elections on charges of exchanging political funds for nominations. Pretrial detention hearings for these individuals will be held sequentially at 2 p.m. on the 14th at the Changwon District Court.

Myung is also accused of assisting former lawmaker Kim's nomination for the 2022 by-election and receiving a total of over 76 million won in 16 installments through Kang as compensation. Additionally, he faces charges of receiving 120 million won each, totaling 240 million won, from two preliminary candidates for the 2022 local elections on the condition of nomination.