Allegations of Nepotism in Hiring of Myeong Taegyun's Brother-in-law... Gyeongnam Province Says "Must Take Responsibility for False Political Attacks"

Democratic Party Gyeongnam Provincial Committee Submits Complaint for Violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act

Gyeongsangnam-do strongly denied allegations that it hired the brother-in-law of Myung Tae-gyun, a key figure suspected of interfering in candidate nominations, at a related provincial institution as a reward for political nomination, calling the claims "false information."

On the afternoon of the 3rd, Gyeongsangnam-do held a press conference at the provincial government press center and stated, "Despite repeatedly clarifying our position, the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongsangnam-do branch is conducting political attacks based on unfounded falsehoods and must take full responsibility for the consequences."

Kim Hyun-soo, Special Advisor for External Cooperation of Gyeongnam Province, is holding a press conference to refute allegations of hiring requests involving Myeong Tae-gyun's brother-in-law. Photo by Lee Se-ryeong

Kim Hyun-soo, Special Advisor for External Cooperation of Gyeongsangnam-do, said, "Governor Park Wan-su's nomination was decided through a primary election involving 3.3 million residents and members of the People Power Party," adding, "The Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongsangnam-do branch, which denies this, seems to be disregarding the residents."

He also emphasized, "The hiring of temporary non-regular workers at Nammyung Dormitory was conducted fairly according to the relevant regulations and procedures of the institution, and there was no request for hiring favors."

He further stated, "The designation of the Changwon 2nd National Industrial Complex, which was long desired by one million Changwon citizens, was decided through a lawful process and a fair review by government ministries."

He added, "The hydrogen specialized complex designation was first applied for on August 24, 2021, during the 7th local government under Governor Kim Kyung-soo but failed to be designated. However, under the 8th local government, it was preliminarily designated on May 24 of this year and is currently undergoing a preliminary feasibility study," explaining, "This is one of the major achievements of the 8th local government."

He reiterated, "Governor Park has never accepted any requests nor engaged in any financial transactions."

The Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongnam Provincial Party is speaking about allegations related to a hiring request involving Mr. Myeong Taegyun's brother-in-law. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Earlier that day, the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongsangnam-do branch held a press conference at the provincial government press center, stating, "A local media outlet reported allegations that Governor Park accepted a hiring request for Myung's brother-in-law and even received money as a reward for his nomination," and demanded, "Governor Park, as the person involved in the allegations, must come forward and answer directly to the residents."

Song Soon-ho, chairman of the provincial party branch, referred to a media report that Myung's brother-in-law passed the recruitment for a Grade 5 staff position at Nammyung Dormitory, a dormitory for Seoul National University students operated under consignment by the Gyeongsangnam-do Lifelong Education Promotion Institute under the provincial government, in May of last year.

He claimed, "Myung's brother-in-law did not have the certifications or dormitory work experience that would earn extra points, yet four out of five interviewers gave him the highest interview scores, making him the overwhelming first among 11 applicants," and argued, "It is reasonable to suspect that Gyeongsangnam-do exerted influence over the side that actually conducted the evaluation."

Song Sun-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongnam Provincial Party, is waiting to receive a receipt after submitting a complaint to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office civil petition office. Photo by Lee Se-ryeong

Immediately after the press conference, the Democratic Party branch moved to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office and filed a complaint under the name of Chairman Song, accusing Governor Park Wan-su and Myung Tae-gyun of violating the Anti-Graft Act.

Earlier, Gyeongsangnam-do explained that around the end of 2022, a person related to Myung delivered the resume of Myung's brother-in-law to Governor Park's secretariat, but the secretariat immediately shredded the document on its own.

They also clarified that the resume was received before the Nammyung Dormitory recruitment announcement was made, and that the recruitment was for a two-year term non-regular temporary position conducted through a blind hiring process.

Furthermore, Governor Park reiterated that he never received any requests related to this hiring.