Kim Young-sun Flared Up While Attending the Warrant Hearing... Silent Myung Tae-gyun

"Am I a Murderer Just Because I Took the Same Bus as a Murderer?"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-seon, who is accused of paying about 90 million won to election broker Myung Tae-gyun in exchange for nomination (violation of the Political Funds Act), strongly opposed the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant as he appeared at the court on the 14th for a warrant hearing. Meanwhile, Myung immediately entered the courthouse without responding to the flood of questions from reporters.

From the left, election broker Myeong Tae-gyun and former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Kim, who appeared at Changwon District Court that afternoon, said, "The nature of the funds must be determined first regarding this arrest warrant. I have filed a complaint against Kang Hye-kyung," adding, "For example, if someone contrasting with Kang committed murder and the knife was said to be mine, then it must be clarified whether I gave that knife to be used for a crime. Without such clarification, it is difficult to confirm or prove the elements of the offense."

He continued, "Also, Kang Hye-kyung said on Spix that she borrowed money during the presidential election and repaid it. But Kim Tae-yeol received money about ten times secretly. Then that act must be determined to confirm how I was involved. Right now, the case is under investigation and not finalized. It's like issuing an arrest warrant for a murderer just because they got off the same bus. I think the media is shaking the prosecution too much, making this a political and theoretical arrest warrant," he said.

Kim said, "I will sincerely explain and come out," as he moved toward the courthouse.

When asked while entering the courthouse, "The warrant application says you cut off contact with your family and went into hiding, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant. Is that true?" he replied, "No."

However, he did not respond to the question, "Do you think the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant is unfair?" and entered the courthouse.

Meanwhile, Myung did not answer any questions from reporters about his meeting with Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker from the Reform New Party, and immediately entered the courthouse. Earlier, when arriving at Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, Myung responded to reporters' questions by saying, "It's embarrassing, what is this about?"

The Criminal Division 4 of Changwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Ho-kyung), investigating this case, filed arrest warrants on the 11th against former lawmaker Kim, Myung, candidate A for the 8th simultaneous local election for Goryeong County governor, and candidate B for the 8th simultaneous local election for Daegu city council, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.

The prosecution applied charges of receiving political funds related to recommending a specific person as a candidate in public elections to Myung, and charges of donating political funds to Kim and the other three individuals, requesting arrest warrants.

Candidates A and B are accused of delivering over 240 million won in multiple installments to the Future Korea Research Institute ahead of the June 1 local elections (violation of the Political Funds Act).

The decision on whether to issue arrest warrants for Myung and former lawmaker Kim is expected to be a crucial turning point that will determine the success of the prosecution's future investigation.

If the prosecution succeeds in securing the custody of Myung and others, the investigation into allegations of nomination interference involving President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Geon, which were not included in the criminal facts of this arrest warrant application, is also expected to accelerate.

On the other hand, if the arrest warrants for the two are dismissed, the prosecution's investigation may remain at a standstill except for the investigation into the funds exchanged between Myung and former lawmaker Kim, as key evidence such as Myung's mobile phone or audio recordings would not be secured.

The decision on the detention of the two is expected to be made late in the afternoon.