Court clears broker, ex-lawmaker in nomination bribery

A political broker and a former lawmaker indicted and detained on charges of exchanging money for party nominations tied to a June 2022 parliamentary by-election and local elections were acquitted at their first trial. The ruling came 429 days after the case was sent to court on Dec. 3, 2024.

The Changwon District Court’s Criminal Division 4, presided over by Judge Kim In-taek, on Wednesday acquitted Myung Tae-kyun, former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, former Mirae Korea Research Institute head Kim Tae-yeol, and two former preliminary candidates identified by the surnames Bae and Lee. Bae had sought the Goryeong County mayoralty in North Gyeongsang Province, while Lee ran for the Daegu City Council. The court found all five not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act.

The court, however, convicted Myung of ordering another person to conceal evidence. It ruled that he instructed his brother-in-law to hide a mobile phone containing messages and recordings known as the so-called “golden phone.” Myung was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year.

Myung and Kim were arrested in November 2024 and indicted the following month on charges that they exchanged 80.7 million won in 16 transactions between August 2022 and November 2023 in return for securing party nominations. Prosecutors alleged that Myung, who had close ties to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, demanded half of Kim’s National Assembly salary after helping her secure the People Power Party nomination in the June 2022 Changwon Uichang by-election and received the money in monthly payments.

The court rejected the prosecution’s claims, citing minutes from the People Power Party’s nomination committee that showed the panel reached its decision through deliberation and a majority vote. On that basis, the court said it was difficult to conclude that Myung exerted decisive influence over the nomination process. It also found it clearly established that Myung served as head of Kim’s local party office campaign headquarters.

When considered alongside evidence that Myung repeatedly sought repayment of debts from Kim and others, the court ruled that the money exchanged could not be classified as political funds. Instead, it concluded that the transactions constituted salary payments and debt repayments rather than funds provided in return for securing nominations.

The court also acquitted all five defendants of charges that they received a combined 2.4 billion won from Bae and Lee, who were preparing to run in the June 2022 local elections, with each allegedly paying 1.2 billion won. It noted that the initial transfers took place in August 2021, roughly 10 months before the elections, at a time when political parties had yet to begin concrete preparations related to nominations or campaign activities.

The ruling is expected to have implications for related cases involving alleged violations of the Political Funds Act by former President Yoon. It follows earlier court decisions that cleared former first lady Kim Keon Hee of charges involving the receipt of free opinion polls from Myung and now also acquits Myung of the associated allegations.


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