Photo : YONHAP News
Prosecutors investigating allegations surrounding power broker Myung Tae-kyun are questioning the whistleblower in the case.
Kang Hye-kyung, a former aide to ex-ruling party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, appeared for questioning at the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday.
Previously, in media interviews, Kang made claims that led people to suspect first lady Kim Keon-hee of meddling in the ruling party’s candidate nomination process.
Testifying at a recent parliamentary audit hearing, Kang accused Myung, a pollster and self-proclaimed political consultant, of pulling strings to help former Rep. Kim obtain the ruling party’s nomination before the 2022 by-elections.
Kang said Myung conducted opinion polls for President Yoon Suk Yeol on 81 occasions ahead of the 2022 presidential race, collecting no payment at the time, with the first lady also alleged to have played a role.
In December, the South Gyeongsang provincial election committee filed a complaint against Kang, alleging violations of the Political Funds Act and requesting investigations into five people, including Myung and former Rep. Kim.
The prosecution suspects that former Rep. Kim paid Myung some 90 million won, or around 65-thousand U.S. dollars, after winning a parliamentary seat in Changwon’s Uichang District in a 2022 by-election.