Former Seoul Metropolitan Council Member Kim Kyung Appears for Bail Hearing over Alleged 100 Million Won Nomination Bribe; Kang Sun-woo to Appear in Afternoon

The Financial News reported that former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Kim Kyung, who is accused of delivering 100 million won to independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, formerly of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), in exchange for a party nomination, now faces a possible detention warrant.
Kim appeared on the 3rd for a pretrial detention hearing before Judge Lee Jong-rok of the Seoul Central District Court, the chief judge in charge of warrants. Kim entered the courtroom while avoiding contact with reporters.
Kim is suspected of handing over 100 million won in illegal political funds to Rep. Kang ahead of the 8th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections in 2022, while asking for a party nomination.
During the police investigation, Kim admitted to these allegations. Rep. Kang, however, has denied the charges, claiming that she returned the money.
On the 5th of last month, police sought arrest warrants for both, applying charges including violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, as well as breach of trust in the form of receiving benefits (for Kang) and giving benefits (for Kim). Prosecutors requested the warrants on the 9th of the same month.
Because Kim acknowledged the allegations during the police stage, he is expected to argue that there is little risk of flight or destruction of evidence. However, after the allegations surfaced, he left for the United States, and investigators later found indications that he had deleted Telegram Messenger and other chat records during that period, casting doubt on whether his argument will be accepted.
A detention hearing for Rep. Kang is scheduled for this afternoon.
The court’s decisions on whether to issue detention warrants for the two are expected to come as late as tonight.
theknight@fnnews.com Reporter Jung Kyung-soo Reporter