All-out Effort to Solidify Charges Ahead of First Lady Kim's Appearance on the 6th
The special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating allegations surrounding Kim Keonhee, will summon former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Youngsun tomorrow in connection with the alleged nomination interference involving Myung Taegyun.
On August 3, the special prosecutor's office announced to the press that it would summon and question former lawmaker Kim at 9 a.m. on August 4. Kim Youngsun is a key figure in the allegations of nomination interference that occurred during the 2022 by-elections and last year's general elections.
On April 29, former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Youngsun entered the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu as a witness to be investigated for allegations of interference in candidate selection and opinion polls involving former President Yoon Sukyeol and his wife, as well as several politicians from the old ruling party. He is responding to questions from reporters. Photo by Yonhap News.
Kim Keonhee and former President Yoon Sukyeol are suspected of having exerted influence to secure the nomination of Kim Youngsun in the June 1, 2022 parliamentary by-election, as a reward for receiving an illegal public opinion poll from political broker Myung Taegyun during the 20th presidential election campaign in 2022.
A transcript was previously released in which former President Yoon, on May 9, 2022?the day before the People Power Party announced its by-election nominations?told Myung, "Kim Youngsun has worked hard since the primary, so I asked for Kim Youngsun to be considered, but there are a lot of opinions in the party. I'll talk to Sanghyeon (lawmaker Yoon) again. He's the head of the nomination committee."
During last year's April 10 general election, suspicions were raised that Kim Keonhee worked to have former prosecutor Kim Sangmin run in Kim Youngsun's constituency of Uichang, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
At the time, Myung, who had supported Kim Youngsun, claimed that Kim Keonhee said, "Support prosecutor Kim Sangmin so that he can be elected in Uichang-gu, Changwon. If you do, I will give you a ministerial post or the presidency of a public corporation after the election."
The special prosecutor's team has conducted searches and seizures of the residences and offices of former lawmaker Kim, lawmaker Yoon, and former prosecutor Kim. In addition, Myung was summoned and questioned for two consecutive days on July 31 and August 1 as the team worked to uncover the substance of the nomination interference allegations.
The special prosecutor's office is expected to focus on pressing Kim Keonhee, who is scheduled to appear on August 6, about whether she was involved in the nomination process, based on the testimony obtained from the in-person questioning of former lawmaker Kim.
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