Probe of self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun set for Assembly vote

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Probe of self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun set for Assembly vote

Published: 24 Feb. 2025, 19:34

MICHAEL LEE
[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. [NEWS1]

A parliamentary committee greenlit a bill on Monday evening to establish a special counsel probe into alleged influence peddling by self-titled power broker Myung Tae-kyun.

The bill’s approval by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which clears legislation for a floor vote by the parliament, was boycotted by lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), who stormed out of the committee room.

The National Assembly, which the liberal Democratic Party (DP) dominates, is expected to vote on the bill during its plenary session on Feb. 27.

Myung is accused of soliciting impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s support for former PPP lawmaker Kim Young-sun’s nomination as the party’s candidate in the June 2022 by-election to fill Changwon Uichang parliamentary constituency.

Prosecutors suspect that the president backed Kim in return for the free opinion surveys Myung allegedly conducted on Yoon’s behalf during his successful election campaign earlier that year.

Kim won the by-election after being nominated by the PPP and served a single term as a lawmaker.

Myung is also accused of receiving approximately 80.7 million won ($55,890) from Kim after the election in exchange for his lobbying for the president on her behalf.

Prosecutors indicted both Myung and Kim Young-sun in early December of last year on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which forbids using money to recommend specific candidates for public office.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee are also accused of meddling in the PPP’s candidate selection process, ahead of the last year's general election, at Myung’s behest.

The committee considered the bill for a special counsel probe into Myung on Feb. 17 but temporarily shelved it due to strong protests from PPP members.

The DP has recently raised more allegations regarding Myung’s ties to prominent PPP figures

On Monday, DP Rep. Seo Young-kyo released a recording of Myung telling an acquaintance over the phone that he'd helped current Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo rejoin the PPP by facilitating his meeting with senior party figure Kim Chong-in.

In the recording, Myung also boasted that Hong “used to call five times a day” and promised to refer to Myung as a “big brother” in return for helping him reconcile with the main conservative party.

Seo also accused Hong of being present at a Jan. 19, 2022, meeting between Myung and Yoon in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, before the president was elected.

Myung's lawyer, Nam Sang-kwon, told MBC Radio that the self-styled power broker met the Daegu mayor “at least four times” and “more than his own father-in-law.”

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Hong, who publicly vowed the same day to resign from his mayoral post to run for the presidency if an early election ends up taking place.

If the Constitutional Court decides to uphold Yoon's impeachment, a race to choose his successor must take place within 60 days.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]