“The one who takes the money is the owner.”, Screenshot of the computer screen from Miraehan Research Institute provided by attorney Kang Hye-kyung.,
“I eliminated my business (registration) five years ago, eliminated my wife’s too five years ago, and then got rid of the bank account. I haven’t received a single penny. Never received anything,” said Myung Tae-kyun, a key figure in the scandal involving the alleged involvement of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife in the nomination selection for parliamentary elections, during a phone conversation with Hankyoreh in September. How has Mr. Myung been living then?
Attorney for Kang Hye-kyung, a former accounting manager for former People’s Power Party MP Kim Young-seon and also the deputy director of the public opinion polling institution Miraehan Research Institute, stated on the 11th, “Mr. Myung denies being the real owner of Miraehan Research Institute. He claims he neither ran the institute nor received any money. But how did Mr. Myung, known as a defaulter, manage to live?” and released a photo taken of the computer screen from Miraehan Research Institute to the media.
The photo released by attorney Kang shows a detailed record of the money taken by ‘Chairman Myung.’ ‘Chairman Myung’ refers to Myung Tae-kyun. The money taken by Chairman Myung was mostly used for personal purposes like management fees, rent, city gas fees, mobile phone bills for him, his wife, and daughter, his mother-in-law’s interest payments, expenses, and cash. Although the period is not shown, there are over 20 transactions exceeding 20 million won on just one screen.
On the 11th, the Changwon District Prosecutor’s Office requested arrest warrants for four people, including Mr. Myung and former People’s Power Party MP Kim Young-seon, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act.
During the presidential election in 2022, Kang Hye-kyung, then the deputy director of the Miraehan Research Institute, testified during a national audit that Mr. Myung conducted 81 public opinion polls for President Yoon Suk-yeol. However, Mr. Myung claims that there was a separate representative for Miraehan Research Institute, and he is not the real owner of the institute.
Nevertheless, it is reported that the Changwon District Prosecutor’s Office, investigating this case, has identified Mr. Myung as the real owner of Miraehan Research Institute through the flow of funds from the institute. They also believe that Mr. Myung and former People’s Power Party MP Kim Young-seon, who received the party nomination with Mr. Myung’s assistance, were in a symbiotic relationship.