It has been confirmed that political broker Myung Tae-gyun, when pressed to repay money he borrowed from an associate of Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo, said in effect that he could raise issues by filing a complaint against Mayor Hong for violating the Public Official Election Act. The associate of Mayor Hong who lent the money is a figure suspected of requesting a poll survey related to Mayor Hong's election ahead of the June 1, 2022 local election and paying for it under a false name. It appears that Myung was aware at the time that the poll survey related to Mayor Hong could be illegal and become problematic.
According to reporting by Kyunghyang Shinmun on the 4th, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office secured a recording of a phone call between Myung and Kang Hye-gyung, deputy director of polling firm Future Korea Research Institute (FKRI), in December 2022 during its investigation of the "Myung Tae-gyun Gate." When Kang said at the time, "Park Jae-ki (an associate of Mayor Hong) keeps urging Director Kim Tae-yeol (of FKRI) to 'pay back the money,'" Myung replied, "I already told OO (Choi, a friend of Mayor Hong's son) that I'll pay in March or April next year, 'stop doing this,'" and said "'Tell OO to report Hong Jun-pyo for election law violations.'" Myung then said, "(So) tell Park Jae-ki to shut his mouth and wait until March or April."
According to Kim Tae-yeol, who was the director of FKRI at the time, on April 4 that year Kim borrowed 50 million won from Park under the pretext of FKRI operating expenses on Myung's instructions. Myung said he had "urgent money to receive" and instructed Kim to go meet with Park at Mayor Hong's election office in Daegu, and Park, whom Kim met at the election office, received 50 million won by check from an acquaintance and gave it to Kim. Kim claims he learned at that meeting that Myung had previously borrowed 50 million won from Park. In contrast, Myung's side claims that Kim borrowed 100 million won from Park independently of Myung, and that when Park kept urging Kim to repay, Myung later paid 10 million won on his behalf and Park agreed to process the remaining 40 million won as repayment out of regard for Myung, with whom he had a close relationship.
Park is from South Changnyeong in South Gyeongsang Province, the same hometown as Mayor Hong, and served as president of Gyeongnam Development Corporation after Hong successfully won reelection as governor in 2014. Around the time Park lent money to Myung's side, Park requested a Daegu mayoral poll survey from Myung and transferred the cost under the names of Mayor Hong's campaign associates. The money that went to Myung's side from Park as poll survey costs is estimated at over 20 million won.
Choi, mentioned by Myung in the phone call with Kang, is a friend of Mayor Hong's son and worked as a volunteer in Mayor Hong's 2022 election campaign. According to investigation, Choi also requested multiple polls from Myung's side during the 2021 People Power Party presidential primary and the 2022 Daegu mayoral election, sending approximately 46 million won in total as payment. In particular, Choi provided Myung's side with a roster of 570,000 party members during the presidential primary and about 44,000 Daegu-area party members during the mayoral election, requesting member-targeted polls. Mayor Hong's side maintains that the polls requested by Park and Choi are "unrelated to the campaign."
That Myung, while being pressed by Park for debt repayment, made coercive remarks that he would "report Mayor Hong for election law violations" appears to indicate that Myung was aware of the potentially illegal nature of the poll surveys related to Mayor Hong. Polls using party member rosters are highly suspect of illegality because survey results can be misused to conduct election campaigns.
Circumstances indicating that Mayor Hong's side and former People Power Party member Kim Young-sun may have known that the poll surveys could become problematic are also confirmed. Choi stated in prosecutors' investigation last November that "Congresswoman Kim Young-sun told me to 'meet with President Park Jae-ki and help arrange for (Myung's side) to defer payment of debt,'" and "I met with Park Jae-ki and requested that the repayment period be deferred for about two months."
Mayor Hong wrote on social media on the 18th of last month: "(Poll survey cost is) not a substitute payment, and we didn't request it—that was something my supporter did with his own money," adding "However, Myung's gang used that relationship to commit loan fraud by borrowing 100 million won from that person, so they say they will soon file a demand for restitution lawsuit."
Prosecutors will call Kang and Kim as witnesses for investigation at Changwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 5th and 6th. Prosecutors plan to investigate not only suspicions related to Mayor Hong but also suspicions of poll survey cost substitution related to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, allegations of involvement in candidate selection by President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, and other matters.
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I don't know what to say... There's not a single person who isn't involved.
