'Power broker' questioning enters round 3 in mayoral corruption probe

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'Power broker' questioning enters round 3 in mayoral corruption probe

Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 17:57

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun leaves the Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang after attending an arrest warrant hearing on Nov. 14, 2024. [NEWS1]

Prosecutors on Tuesday questioned self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun for the third time as they intensified their investigation into his alleged ties to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon during the 2021 mayoral by-election.

An investigative team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office summoned Myung, who is currently held at Changwon Prison in South Gyeongsang, to the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office for interrogation.

The interrogation came a day after prosecutors questioned two aides of Oh who were involved in his election campaign during the 2021 mayoral by-election.

After about five hours of questioning on Monday, Kang Cheol-won, the city’s former deputy mayor for public affairs who was summoned as a petitioner and witness told reporters that he had testified regarding Myung’s claim that he met Oh “seven times.”

According to Kang, prosecutors did not specify any particular time or place where Myung allegedly met the mayor.

Myung has claimed that he met Oh “seven times during the campaign” and that the mayor personally called him to request a poll result that would give him an advantage over his opponent, then-People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Na Kyung-won.

Oh has acknowledged meeting Myung through former PPP Rep. Kim Young-sun but said he cut ties with him in February 2021 after finding a test survey result unreliable.

On Dec. 2, Oh filed a complaint against Myung with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, accusing him of fraud and dereliction of duty after allegations surfaced about Myung’s connection to his campaign.

Kang Hye-kyung, the former accounting manager for ex-Rep. Kim, who first exposed allegations of Myung’s influence-peddling in lobbying for her as the PPP’s candidate in the 2022 by-election, also claimed that businessman Kim Han-jeong, a known sponsor of Oh, paid around 33 million won ($24,000) to conduct polls in support of the mayor.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks to reporters after attending a parliamentary forum at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on March 11. [NEWS1]

On Tuesday, Oh urged prosecutors to swiftly conduct and conclude their investigation, calling Myung and Kang's claims “absurdly false.”

“Whatever the conclusion, I believe the prosecution’s investigation is the only way to clearly debunk Myung’s absurdly false allegations,” Oh told reporters after attending a parliamentary forum at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul.

“In that sense, I plan to respond to questioning soon if I am summoned.”

Myung was indicted and detained in December on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which prohibits using money to influence candidate nominations. His attorney told reporters on Tuesday that Myung plans to file a petition to revoke his detention, arguing that there are no concerns about evidence destruction or flight risk and that the charges against him are not severe.

The National Assembly approved a special counsel probe into Myung’s alleged activities on Feb. 28. Despite the looming deadline to approve or veto the bill by Saturday, the central government did not table the bill during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]