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Swiftly investigate the suspicious power broker

Published: 21 Oct. 2024, 19:40

Suspicions over Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed “political broker,” only deepened in the National Assembly’s regular audit of the government on Monday. In the audit, Kang Hye-kyung, a former aide to former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, appeared as a witness. Kang had been an employee at a survey company allegedly owned by the power broker. In the testimony, Kang disclosed sensitive phone conversations between the power broker and the former lawmaker, which showed how the former lawmaker could grab a nomination in a by-election in June 2022 — just one month after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office.

Kang said, “Myung went to first lady Kim Keon Hee to receive the money for opinion polls [in favor of then-presidential candidate Yoon], but couldn’t get the money. So, the first lady instead helped the former lawmaker get nominated in the by-election.” In the phone conversation, the former lawmaker appreciated Myung for enabling her to become a legislator again. If proven true, the testimony by Kang strongly suggests the first lady’s involvement in the by-election. Kang also said that she could listen to the volatile conversations between the power broker and the first lady. Kang also submitted a list of 25 lawmakers who allegedly traded with the broker to get nominations from the governing People Power Party (PPP).

But Myung, the eye of the storm, didn’t appear for testimony. Instead, he has been selectively leaking stories advantageous to himself to the press. Myung even says he sometimes lied to the media. If his allegations are true, that’s a serious crime against democracy. Manipulating the results of polls — and trading a nomination for money — cannot be pardoned no matter what.

The prosecution must get to the bottom of the suspicion. Both the PPP and majority Democratic Party (DP) demanded a swift investigation of the case from the prosecution. Members of the DP even urged the government to set up a special investigation headquarters. But Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung refused, saying that the pertinent district prosecutors’ office has been looking into the case.

We can hardly find fault with the prosecution’s tradition of handling cases through its district offices first. Nevertheless, the prosecution must have the will to thoroughly investigate the suspicion. The results of its investigation will have enormous ramifications on the government. The prosecution has been criticized for its leniency toward the first lady, as seen in its decision to not indict her despite her suspicious acceptance of a luxury handbag from a pastor and her alleged involvement in stock price manipulation. The prosecution must conduct an unbiased investigation regardless of whoever its targets are.