Prosecutors Question Former Seoul Deputy Mayor Close to Oh Se-hoon
Focus on Alleged Undisclosed Polls and Payment in 2021 By-Election
Kim Byung-min Rebuts Claims About Oh Se-hoon and Myung Tae-gyun
The dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Ji-hyung), investigating allegations of Myung Tae-gyun's interference in candidate nominations, summoned Kim Byung-min, Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, as a witness on the 13th from 2 p.m.
The prosecution is examining suspicions that during the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, the Mirae Korea Research Institute operated by Myung conducted 13 undisclosed opinion polls related to Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and that businessman Kim Han-jung, known as a long-time supporter of Mayor Oh, paid 33 million won on his behalf.
Before the investigation, Deputy Mayor Kim told reporters, “During the by-election, I was a member of the party’s emergency response committee leadership and also served as co-vice chairman of the Central Election Countermeasures Committee. I brought a lot of opinion poll data, and I plan to clearly prove with objective evidence why the baseless fake opinion polls allegedly circulated by Myung Tae-gyun and his group were unnecessary for that election.”
Deputy Mayor Kim added, “Myung has claimed, ‘I made Mayor Oh Se-hoon,’ and ‘Mayor Oh doesn’t even know why he became Seoul mayor.’ I will explain from my position in the party leadership why these absurd delusions are not true.” Regarding Myung’s claim that Mayor Oh offered the position of president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) to former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, Kim said, “That’s a ridiculous story.” He stated that Mayor Oh is not the type to promise such positions and has never done so. Regarding Myung’s claim that he met Mayor Oh seven times, Kim said, “That is irrelevant to the core issue,” and added, “I have explained sufficiently.”
Deputy Mayor Kim said, “The essence of this case is whether the 13 undisclosed opinion polls were commissioned and received, and whether any payment was made in return. So far, Kang Hye-kyung has made a blatant lie that she created PDF files and delivered them to Mayor Oh, but after a recent prosecution investigation, she said they went elsewhere.”
The prosecution is expected to verify facts related to Mayor Oh’s allegations with Deputy Mayor Kim based on statements from Myung and Kang. Mayor Oh has consistently denied the allegations, saying he cut off contact early on because he thought Myung was not worth dealing with and that he never commissioned or received any opinion polls.
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