[Anchor]
The prosecution has arrested and charged Myung Tae-kyun and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun.
Attention is also being paid to how the prosecution's investigation will proceed in the future.
Let's talk to reporter Lim Hyung-joon of the Gyeongnam Report Headquarters, who is out at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office. Reporter Lim Hyungjun!
[Reporter]
Yes, this is the Changwon District Prosecutor's Office.
[Anchor]
Reporter Lim, shall we first summarize the prosecution's indictment?
[Reporter]
Yes, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office handed over Myung Tae-kyun and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun to trial today (3rd) in custody.
The two were charged with violating the Political Fund Act in common.
The prosecution stated in the indictment that the two exchanged 80 million won for three months from August 2022.
The two are also accused of receiving 120 million won and 240 million won in total from two potential candidates for the 2022 local elections.
Prosecutors also indicted two preliminary candidates in Yeongnam who are suspected of giving money to them in hopes of nominating candidates.
In addition, Kim Tae-yeol, the head of the Future Korea Research Institute, whom the prosecution identified as an accomplice when requesting an arrest warrant, was also put on trial.
Five people in the two-pronged flow of funds charged with violating the Political Fund Act were prosecuted at once.
The prosecution also charged Myung with concealing evidence.
made his brother-in-law hide three mobile phones and one USB memory.
This cell phone is a so-called "golden phone" that is believed to contain the contents of the phone call between Myung and the president of Yoon Suk Yeol.
Prosecutors are believed to have left open the possibility that the golden phone will remain undone and charged with hidden teachers, not destroying evidence.
Myong's brother-in-law said earlier that he threw this golden phone in the trash in front of the house.
[Anchor]
The prosecution has prosecuted for now, but there are many suspicions that need to be investigated in the future. First of all, shall we point out the 'suspected intervention in the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun'?
[Reporter]
Yes, it is suspected that Myung Tae-kyun conducted a free poll for then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol in the last presidential election and made him win the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun instead of this cost.
The prosecution suspects that Kim was nominated instead of conducting 81 polls at the Future Korea Research Institute and receiving more than 370 million won.
In the process, First Lady Kim Gun-hee intervened.
This is what Kang Hye-kyung, who was the former accounting manager of former lawmaker Kim, revealed at the National Assembly's parliamentary audit.
The allegation was recently released by the Democratic Party of Korea, and it has become more controversial. Let's listen.
[Kim Yoon Suk Yeol / Then-President-elect: The mission committee brought it to me, so I asked him to do it, but he talked a lot.]
[Mr. Myung Taekyun: I will never forget your kindness. Thank you.]
Former lawmaker Kim was elected in the 2022 by-election of the National Assembly in Uichang-gu, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, by the people's power.
The prosecution seized and searched the power of the people for two days on the 27th and 28th of last month to look into the nomination process and secured data related to the nomination.
In addition, we investigated an external member of the 2022 National Assembly by-elections nomination management committee as a reference.
An investigation into Yoon Sang-hyun, Han Ki-ho, and Lee Joon-seok, the leader of the People's Power Party, are also expected to take place.
[Anchor]
There's also suspicion that Myung Taekyun manipulated the poll, right?
[Reporter]
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, Kang Hye-kyung claimed that Myung Tae-kyun polled 81 times during the last presidential election for the candidate at the time of Yoon Suk Yeol.
There are "suspicions of manipulating public opinion surveys," such as setting the results of the investigation so that the candidate at the time of Yoon Suk Yeol was ahead of other candidates during the presidential election.
Let's listen to the recording of Myung's call in this regard.
[Myeong Tae-gyun / September 29, 2021 Call from Kang Hye-kyung: Raise Yoon Seok-yeol a little bit and give him a 2% lead over the Hong Joon Pyo. Isn't that a young son (children)? You have to raise the coefficient of responding so that it comes out more than 2~3% promotion.]
That is why the prosecution suspects that Myung was involved in inflating the sample or distorting the data during the non-public opinion poll.
Kang Hye-kyung also said at the National Assembly's parliamentary audit in October that it was "public opinion manipulation."
[Kang Hye-kyung / Last October 21, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee: Raising the approval rating of Yoon Suk Yeol in their 20s and 30s by 20% is an instruction to multiply the number of Yoon Suk Yeol in their 20s and 30s to produce a report, so this is not a correction but a manipulation]
In response, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he never asked Myung to do a poll during the presidential election.
[Yoon Suk Yeol / President: I didn't ask Myung Tae Kyun to do any kind of poll. Manipulating that (poll) has never done anything like that in my life.]
In addition, suspicions arose that Myung conducted a poll for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Mayor Oh countered by asking Myung and Kang to reveal to whom they had given the data from 13 polls.
[Anchor]
Also, is the prosecution confirming the suspicion that Myung Tae-kyun was involved in the selection of the site for the second national industrial complex in Changwon?
[Reporter]
Yes, the prosecution is also looking into allegations that Myung Tae-kyun was involved in selecting the site of Changwon's second national industrial complex.It is also suspected that
received confidential information from Changwon City and encouraged his acquaintances to buy nearby land.Mr.
stated in a prosecution investigation before being arrested that Changwon city officials had shown confidential data and immediately discarded it after seeing it.
Kang Hye-kyung raised related suspicions during the parliamentary audit of the National Assembly.
[Kang Hye-kyung / Last October 21, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee National Audit: CEO Myung Tae-kyun didn't even buy it under a borrowed name, but just encouraged people around him to buy land....]
In this regard, Myung denied the allegations that he was only proposing a policy.
[Myeong Tae Gyun / 9th of last month: I made a suggestion. Because I'm a proposer, I came to me and listened to the offer and confirmed to me, 'Is this the right offer?'.]
Prosecutors investigating related allegations raided Changwon-si and Gyeongsangnam-do at the same time on the 29th of last month.
It was a forced investigation of the departments in charge of the city hall and provincial government related to the designation of the national industrial complex.
Prosecutors secured related data, including copying all related data from computer hard disks.
The prosecution is also looking into allegations that former lawmaker Kim Young-sun's family recently bought land near the National Industrial Complex before the announcement of the selection of the industrial complex.
[Anchor]
Suspicions of hiring requests have also been raised, what is it?
[Reporter]
The story is that Myung Tae-kyun received money from Cho, a wealthy man in Andong, after being asked to hire his son's presidential office.
The prosecution secured a statement from Kang Hye-kyung to the effect that "I know that money was exchanged in July 2021 when Cho, a wealthy man in Andong, asked Myung Tae-kyun to hire his son."As the son of
is working in the presidential office in Yongsan, suspicions have been raised that Cho asked Myung to find a job for his son and that it was actually done.
In this regard, the prosecution secured a statement from Kim Tae-yeol to the effect that "Myeong Tae-kyun has a connection to relay various requests, including hiring the presidential office."
[Anchor]
Then, did the prosecution indict Kang Hye-kyung as well?
[Reporter]
The prosecution did not indict Kang Hye-kyung for now.Mr. Kang
The arrest warrant request for Mr. Myung and former lawmaker Kim states that he was involved in a money transaction between the two.
He is also a suspect in violation of the Political Fund Act,
The prosecution is not included in the list of indictments.
I wonder if the prosecution judged that there was no charge against Kang or if there was any other reason.
[Anchor]
Yes, I've talked to reporter Lim Hyung-joon of Gyeongnam Report Headquarters. Thank you very much.
Reporter for filming
: Kang Tae-woo
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