First Summons After Case Transferred to Changwon District Prosecutors' Office
Compulsory Investigation Expected to Continue on the 27th and 28th
The special investigation team for Myung Tae-gyun's allegations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Ji-hyung) has been summoning and interrogating Myung, who is incarcerated at Changwon Prison, at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office building since around 10 a.m. on the 27th. This is the first investigation since the case was transferred to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office. The prosecution is reportedly verifying allegations that President Yoon and his spouse intervened in the People Power Party's nomination process during the June 1, 2022, National Assembly by-elections, as well as suspicions that businessman Kim Han-jung, known as a sponsor of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, paid for the mayor's opinion poll expenses.
The main target of the prosecution's investigation is the allegation of the presidential couple's interference in the nomination process. The core of the allegation is that the public opinion research firm Mirae Hanguk Research Institute, effectively operated by Myung, conducted illegal opinion polls 81 times (23 unpublished and 58 published) at a cost of 375.2 million KRW to support then-presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, and in return, former lawmaker Kim Young-sun received the nomination for the Changwon Uichang electoral district in the June 1, 2022, by-election.
The prosecution has secured Telegram and other messages containing evidence that Myung sent opinion poll files to President Yoon and his spouse. A November 13, 2023, investigation report prepared by the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office team stated, "There is circumstantial evidence to suspect that Mrs. Kim requested opinion polls favorable to candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, going beyond merely referencing the polls provided by Myung." Myung's side also claims that on February 18, 2023, ahead of the general election, Mrs. Kim proposed to former lawmaker Kim that if he helped Kim Sang-min, a prosecutor who ran for the Changwon Uichang district, win, she would offer him a ministerial or public enterprise president position.
The allegation that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's opinion poll expenses were paid on his behalf is also under investigation. Businessman Kim Han-jung is suspected of paying 33 million KRW for 13 unpublished opinion polls through the personal account of Kang Hye-kyung, who worked as deputy director at Mirae Hanguk Research Institute during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election. Myung's side claims to have met Mayor Oh more than four times and alleges that during a meeting before the Seoul mayoral by-election with former lawmaker Kim and Myung, Mayor Oh promised Kim the position of president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH).
Given the numerous matters to confirm with the key suspect Myung, the prosecution plans to continue the investigation on the 28th as well.
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