The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 6th that it will push for the introduction of a special investigation to uncover the truth behind the so-called ‘Myung Tae-kyun Gate’. In response, Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, stated, “Hong Joon-pyo is not involved with such a fraudster.”
Mayor Hong posted on his social media service (SNS) on the same day, saying, “The Democratic Party is proposing the Myung Tae-kyun special investigation law to catch me,” and added, “Go ahead and try. This fraudster is cooperating with the Democratic Party even from prison, but no matter how much they investigate, nothing will come out.”
He also emphasized, “Forensic investigations were reportedly conducted on tens of thousands of items from Myung Tae-kyun’s golden phone, but not a single call or KakaoTalk message related to me will be found. Regardless of others, Hong Joon-pyo does not get entangled with such fraudsters.”
He added, “On the contrary, there are two cases we’ve reported from our side, so those should be thoroughly investigated to ensure that such fraudsters are sent to prison for a long time. It is very unpleasant to associate me with such fraudsters.”
Previously, in December last year, Mayor Hong denied claims by Mr. Myung and his legal representative, lawyer Nam Sang-kwon, which alleged that he asked Myung Tae-kyun to request Kim Jong-in, former Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, for his return to the party. Mayor Hong announced plans to file defamation charges (false information) against them.
At that time, lawyer Nam claimed in an interview with MBC radio, “Mayor Hong and Mr. Myung had a close relationship,” and stated that in April 2021, Mayor Hong called Mr. Myung to ask for help in requesting his return from Kim Jong-in. It was also claimed that Mr. Myung met with Kim at a villa owned by supporter A of Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Mayor, in Jeju Island on April 25th of that year to discuss Mayor Hong’s return.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party commented on that day that “it is common knowledge that the Myung Tae-kyun Gate was a trigger for the declaration of martial law” and stated their intention to push for a related special investigation. Park Sung-joon, Senior Deputy Floor Leader, remarked during a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly that “until just before the declaration of martial law, Myung Tae-kyun’s state corruption was at the core of the political situation. The Changwon District Prosecutor’s Office obtained Myung Tae-kyun’s ‘golden phone’ but is not properly conducting the investigation.”
He also noted, “There has been no proper revelation or accountability regarding the allegations of election opinion manipulation and illegal intervention in various nominations. It seems like an attempt to cover up as they watch the insurrection case investigation,” and emphasized the need to “reveal the truth behind the Myung Tae-kyun Gate to prevent manipulation of public opinion, unofficial intervention, and state corruption from occurring again.”