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DP releases recording of president, 'political broker' in claims of illegal election intervention

Published: 31 Oct. 2024, 18:00 Updated: 05 Nov. 2024, 13:29

CHO JUNG-WOO
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Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae, second from left, speaks at a press conference held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, to reveal a phone recording between President Yoon Suk Yeol and self-proclaimed ″political broker″ Myung Tae-kyun on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday revealed a phone recording between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed “political broker,” alleging that the president and first lady illegally intervened in the conservative party’s nominations in the 2022 local elections.

DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said at a press conference that the party obtained the recording through its reporting center and had “prepared for a long time” for its release, standing by its authenticity.

In the recording, Yoon appears to tell Myung that he advised the nomination committee “to let former People Power Party [PPP] Rep. Kim Young-sun take the role” ahead of the 2022 by-elections, noting her hard work since the primary.

"But there is a lot of talk in the party," Yoon says in the recording.

Myung is then heard thanking the president, saying he would never forget his help.

In June 2022, former PPP Rep. Kim won the by-election to head Uichang District in Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

The DP floor leader noted that the PPP nominated Kim on May 10, 2022 — the day after the call between Yoon and Myung was made — adding that the recording was evidence of the president’s “illegal intervention in the nomination process" in violation of the law requiring all public officials, from the president down, to remain politically neutral from exerting influence on an election.

Park further claimed that additional evidence points to the alleged influence of first lady Kim Keon Hee over the president’s actions.

The DP released another 45-second recording of Myung talking about the presidential couple to an unidentified person over the phone. The DP floor leader said the recording suggests that a transaction of some sort occurred between the couple and Myung during the June 2022 local elections and even the March 2022 by-elections.

Myung Tae-kyun [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Myung — who allegedly maintained a close relationship with the presidential couple — claimed that he helped Yoon secure victory in the 2022 presidential election and facilitated first lady Kim Keon Hee’s alleged involvement in the nomination process for the 2022 parliamentary elections.

The suspected connection between the presidential couple and Myung first surfaced last month when online media outlet News Tomato reported that the first lady had intervened in the nomination process of former PPP Rep. Kim ahead of the April general elections this year.

Myung had claimed to possess some 2,000 screenshots of Telegram and KakaoTalk messenger conversations with the presidential couple, of which 200 allegedly involve significant official matters.

Following the DP’s revelations on Thursday, the presidential office issued a statement denying that Yoon had been informed of or issued any orders concerning nominations.

“For the Uichang District in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, Kim was the most competitive candidate,” the statement read. “As a result, Kim won the election by a significant margin.”

The presidential office added that the phone recording between Yoon and Myung released by the DP was an inconsequential conversation that “was not particularly memorable” and that Yoon was merely “speaking in a cordial manner” while Myung continued discussing Kim’s nomination.

Earlier this month, the presidential office said that Yoon only met Myung twice and had not maintained contact since the presidential primary. Yoon first met Myung in July 2021 before joining the PPP, introduced by a senior party official, according to the presidential office.

Following the DP’s revelations on Thursday, prosecutors raided Myung’s residence in Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

Myung — who operated a public opinion polling agency — is currently under investigation for allegedly manipulating poll results during the PPP primary race.

The Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office has raided the homes of Myung and former PPP Rep. Kim last month.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]