‘100 Million Won Nomination Fund’ Case Sent to Prosecutors for Kang Sun-woo and Kim Kyung...Kim Byung-gi Questioned for Third Time

Independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Kim Kyung, who were arrested over allegations of a "100 million won nomination fund," have been handed over to prosecutors, Financial News has learned. This comes roughly 70 days after an audio recording about how to handle the nomination money was made public and the investigation began. Independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi, who faces 13 allegations including bribery but has not been charged with a formal bribery offense, appeared before police for a third round of questioning.
On the 11th, the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent Kang and former council member Kim to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office under arrest. They are suspected of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, as well as criminal breach of trust and giving/receiving benefits under the Criminal Act. A former aide to Kang, identified only by the surname Nam, who arranged the meeting between the two, was also sent without detention on the same charges.
Kang and former council member Kim are accused of meeting at a hotel in Yongsan District, Seoul, in January 2022, ahead of the local elections, and exchanging a shopping bag containing 100 million won in return for a party nomination. Kim later received a sole nomination from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as its Seoul Metropolitan Council candidate in Kangseo-gu, Seoul, which is Kang’s constituency, and went on to win the election.
Police considered applying bribery charges but ultimately concluded that party nominations are an internal party matter rather than an official public duty. On that basis, they applied the charges of breach of trust and giving/receiving benefits instead.
The case surfaced on December 29 last year, when a phone call recording was released in which Kang discussed how to handle the nomination money with independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi, who at the time was a secretary on the Candidate Nomination Management Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea.
During the investigation, former council member Kim reportedly stated that Kang’s side first asked for "one sheet," a phrase understood to mean 100 million won. Kang has denied the allegations, claiming she did not know the bag contained cash and that she returned it immediately. However, police did not conduct a face-to-face confrontation among Kang, former council member Kim, and Nam.
Police plan to continue probing additional allegations surrounding the two even after sending them to prosecutors in custody. Investigators are looking into indications that former council member Kim made so-called "split donations" totaling 130 million won to Kang by using other people’s names, and that he attempted nomination lobbying with political figures ahead of the Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election.

On the same day, police summoned Kim Byung-gi as a suspect for a third round of questioning. Kim arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Mapo Building at around 8:55 a.m. and briefly told reporters, "I will faithfully undergo the investigation." He did not answer questions such as whether he still denies the allegation that he received 30 million won, and went straight to the interrogation room.
This was Kim’s third appearance in 12 days, following two earlier summonses on the 26th and 27th of last month. Police decided on an additional summons, saying there were areas that had not been sufficiently clarified in the previous sessions.
Kim is facing 13 allegations in total. They include claims that he received 30 million won from former Dongjak District council members in return for a nomination ahead of the 2020 general election; that he sought favors for his second son’s transfer to Soongsil University and employment at the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb; and that his spouse misused a corporate credit card belonging to the Dongjak District Council and then tried to quash the ensuing investigation.
In recent weeks, police have reinforced their investigation by conducting a face-to-face interrogation between Kim’s close associate Lee Ji-hee, Vice Chairperson of the Dongjak District Council, and a former district council member who wrote a petition related to the nomination money. They also re-summoned Kim’s second son to secure detailed statements about the transfer and hiring process.
During the latest session, police planned to review Kim’s statements against the evidence they have gathered, and then decide whether further questioning is needed and how to handle his custody status.
425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter