'Political broker' Myung Tae-kyun apologizes to public as he appears before prosecutors

Former presidential confidant and self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun offered a public apology to reporters as he appeared before prosecutors on Friday for questioning over suspicions that he violated political funding laws.

Self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun speaks to reporters upon his arrival at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in South Gyeongsang on Friday morning. [YONHAP]

Former presidential confidant and self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun offered a public apology to reporters as he appeared before prosecutors in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Friday for questioning over suspicions that he violated political funding laws.

Myung is at the center of a growing political scandal over allegations that he illegally accepted approximately 90 million won ($65,200) from former People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Kim Young-sun from August 2022 to December last year in return for helping her with her candidacy in a parliamentary by-election in 2022.

Gripping a cane as he arrived at the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office in the morning, Myung said he was “sorry to the people” for his “foolish” actions and words in the past.

However, Myung denied receiving money from Kim and told reporters that the “money trail” would debunk the allegations against him.

Myung also declined to answer questions from reporters about whether President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee were involved in PPP candidate nominations, saying only that he would tell the truth to prosecutors.

Myung is also under suspicion of conducting skewed polls favoring Yoon during his presidential run at the behest of the now-first lady.

In a recording of a May 2022 phone conversation between Yoon and Myung that was released by the liberal Democratic Party last month, the president can be heard telling Myung that he faced pushback from the PPP after he asked its leaders to nominate Kim Young-sun as the party’s candidate in the by-election for Changwon's Uichang District constituency.

Kim, who ended up clinching the nomination, went on to win the race and served as the district's representative in the National Assembly until the general election earlier this year, when she was succeeded by current PPP Rep. Kim Jong-yang.

The recording has led to suspicions that Yoon backed Kim Young-sun’s candidacy as a favor to Myung for helping his own successful presidential run.

In comments to reporters before she was questioned by prosecutors earlier this month, the former PPP lawmaker denied allegations that she sent money to Myung in return for his help in securing the nomination.

Although the presidential office claimed that Yoon cut contact with Myung after the primaries for the 2022 presidential race, the release of the recording of their conversation in May after the election has fueled speculation that the president’s ties to Myung are deeper than he is willing to admit.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]