Renewed pollster scandal envelops conservative presidential hopefuls

From left: Former People Power Party leader and minor Reform Party lawmaker Rep. Lee Jun-seok; Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon; Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. Yonhap

The Democratic Party of Korea has renewed its push for a special counsel investigation into a suspected election interference scandal involving self-proclaimed "power broker" Myung Tae-kyun, who claims to have had ties to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife.

The special counsel investigation, which would be independent of criminal investigations of Myung that are already underway, could target not only Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee but some of the ruling People Power Party's most prominent frontrunners in a probable presidential election.

Myung, the keyman in the spiraling political scandal, reportedly named three ruling party politicians — former People Power Party leader Rep. Lee Jun-seok, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo — as having been involved with him during several interviews with prosecutors.

All three have publicly announced their intentions to run in an early presidential election if the Constitutional Court rules to remove Yoon from office, the verdict of which is expected in March. They have also denied any connection to Myung, whom prosecutors suspect of manipulating polls to boost Yoon’s standing against his then-Democratic Party of Korea rival in the 2022 election. Myung is also alleged to have played a role in an unsuccessful attempt by Yoon’s wife, Kim, to interfere in the People Power Party primaries.

Lee, who was the People Power Party's leader in 2022, has struck down Myung's claims of his involvement as having no basis in fact. Oh has filed a criminal complaint against Myung for defamation, as has Hong.

The People Power Party has boycotted the Democratic Party-led bill for launching the "Myung Tae-kyun special counsel investigation," which passed Thursday, dismissing the emerging suspicions as "questionable claims of one man."

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the People Power Party's floor leader, said ahead of the vote for the special counsel investigation bill that the Democratic Party was "waging an indiscriminate attack on the conservative bloc, all based on claims made by one broker."

The Democratic Party is seeking to rekindle the so-called "Myung Tae-kyun scandal" that first surfaced in the fall last year with a possible presidential election drawing near.

Rep. Seo Young-kyo, who is leading the Democratic Party's committee for the Myung allegations, said Friday that the ruling party would have "no qualms about opening another investigation" if the claims raised by Myung are in fact false.

But the special counsel investigation faces a likely veto by acting President Choi Sang-mok, who has sent another bill back to the Assembly, citing a lack of bipartisan consensus.