Myung Tae-kyun, accused of fabricating polls to influence the candidacies of conservative political figures, was summoned for questioning Tuesday morning, in a widening investigation into his alleged corrupt ties with the former presidential couple and current Seoul mayor.
The pollster's summons to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office suggests the investigation into his alleged ties with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and former first lady Kim Keon Hee is approaching a critical stage, according to local reports.
The prosecution suspects Oh enlisted the pollster’s help to conduct 13 unpublished polls, with businessperson and supporter Kim Han-jung covering the costs. Additionally, Kang Hye-kyung, a former member of Myung’s polling agency, reportedly received 33 million won ($23,000) from Kim in 2021.
“I came all the way from Changwon (in South Gyeongsang Province) to Seoul to bring Oh Se-hoon down,” Myung told reporters after arriving at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, Tuesday.
Asked about the number of times he met Seoul Mayor Oh, Myung claimed clear evidence and witnesses that would prove he met with Oh at least seven times.
But the mayor said in November last year that he remembered meeting Myung only twice through the introduction of Kim Han-jung, around mid-to-late January 2021. He blasted Myung as a liar.
Myung has also been embroiled in another political scandal for purportedly advising disgraced former President Yoon and his wife during the 2022 presidential campaign, alleging that he was later offered a public position following the Yoon's successful election.
The controversy deepened when the Democratic Party of Korea released an audio recording suggesting Yoon had discussed a by-election nomination with Myung, following allegations that former first lady Kim had meddled in the ruling party’s candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.
After being indicted and detained on charges of violating the Political Funds Act in December 2024, Myung confessed that he tried to manipulate public opinion at the request of top People Power Party politicians, including Oh. The political broker claimed he played a crucial role in facilitating Oh’s Seoul mayoral by-election win in 2021.
Though Oh supporter Kim Han-jung admitted to having sent money to pollster employee Kang during a prosecution investigation in March, Kim claimed it had nothing to do with covering public opinion poll expenses. It had merely been an attempt to leave a good impression of Oh to Myung, who claimed to have ties to Yoon, he said.
Oh previously denied allegations of receiving any polling-related data from Myung and filed a complaint against him for deception and obstruction of his business as mayor last year.
Meanwhile, Tuesday's investigation is also seen as the prosecutor’s effort to expand the scope of the ongoing investigation into election nomination scandals involving former President Yoon and the first lady.
Myung is suspected of receiving about 90 million won from a former lawmaker of the People Power Party, Kim Young-sun, on several occasions from 2022 to 2024. This was allegedly in exchange for Myung's help in getting her nominated on the party ticket ahead of the 2022 by-elections.
Myung allegedly brokered the nomination for Kim by conducting multiple custom polls in favor of then-presidential candidate Yoon for free. The prosecution suspects the former first lady was involved in the nomination process as well.
Asked about possible election interference by Yoon and Kim, the pollster said that the prosecution will make its own judgment, as it has already conducted extensive raids and questioned many witnesses.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office not only carried out search and seizure operations at the residence and office of Seoul Mayor Oh in mid-March, but also this month has investigated individuals connected to Yoon’s alleged election interference, including former Gangseo-gu Mayor Kim Tae-woo, Kong Jae-kwang, who is mayor of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and more.
Tuesday's investigation marked Myung’s first public appearance since he was released from the Changwon Correctional Institution after the court granted bail in early April, nearly five months after his arrest on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
