Scheduled to Be Summoned to Seoul High Prosecutors' Office,
Questioning as a Reference Witness
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Ji-hyung) will summon Myung Tae-kyun to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office on April 29. It is reported that Myung will be questioned as a reference witness regarding allegations that Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul, had polling expenses paid by a third party.
This will be the first time that Myung, who has been questioned in Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in the form of business trips since being released on bail on April 9, will be investigated in Seoul. Kim Young-sun, a former lawmaker of the People Power Party who was released on bail on April 10, is also expected to be questioned soon in Seoul as a reference witness.
Prosecutors suspect that Mayor Oh, during the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, commissioned 13 undisclosed polls to the Future Korea Research Institute and instructed his supporter and businessman Kim Han-jung to pay 33 million won on his behalf. The Future Korea Research Institute is reportedly a company effectively run by Myung.
On March 20, prosecutors conducted searches and seizures at the mayor's office and official residence inside Seoul City Hall, as well as the residence of Kang Chul-won, the former Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, and secured eight mobile phones and a tablet PC previously used by Mayor Oh.
Prosecutors plan to summon Mayor Oh for questioning as soon as the forensic analysis of the seized items and related witness interviews are completed.
Meanwhile, as the investigation involving Myung accelerates, there is speculation that the summons of First Lady Kim Keon-hee could be expedited. Since February, prosecutors have notified Kim's side of the need for questioning, and her legal team submitted a notice of attorney appointment on April 21 and is reportedly coordinating the schedule for the investigation.
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