Kim Young-sun, former lawmaker of the People Power Party, holds a press conference before attending as a witness at the ongoing trial for alleged violations of the Capital Markets Act and other charges against First Lady Kim Keon-hee at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Yonhap News.  

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun asserted on the 24th that "President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife did not intervene" in the alleged political broker's interference in candidate nominations.

Yonhap News reported that Kim testified in court at the ongoing trial for First Lady Kim Keon-hee's alleged stock manipulation of Dooyoung Motors and interference in candidate nominations, which was held in Room 27 of the Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong).

According to the report, Kim argued that the claims of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife intervening in candidate nominations through then-PPP nomination committee chairman Yoon Sang-hyun were entirely false.

When asked by the special prosecutor whether Yoon Sang-hyun had strongly advocated for Kim's nomination, leading to her strategic appointment, Kim replied, "Politicians usually call if they've exerted influence, but Yoon never called me." She added, "It's not something Yoon decides alone. The nomination committee cannot make a decision if even one member opposes it."

She further questioned, "At the time, President Yoon had just been elected and didn't have a firm grip on the party," asking, "How could he ask for favors when he himself was indebted?"

She also rebutted, "I never asked Mr. Myung for a nomination."

The special prosecutor's team alleges that in exchange for receiving free public opinion surveys worth 270 million won from Mr. Myung ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Kim Keon-hee exerted influence to ensure Kim Young-sun received the nomination for the June 1 by-election that year.

However, Kim stated on the same day, "The local government heads who applied for nomination at the time were excluded, and I was the only strong candidate left. There were also criticisms that not enough women were included in the transition committee at the time." She continued, "Coincidentally, the Democratic Party candidate was also a woman, and considering all the circumstances, there was no one else to nominate but me. Yet, I heard that the nomination was decided by vote due to opposition from a certain politician."

Regarding the special prosecutor's disclosure that Myung sent messages to President Yoon and Kim Keon-hee saying "Please save Kim Young-sun," Kim reiterated her rebuttal, saying, "In my case, the nomination was decided by vote (in the committee)." She added, "Nominations are decided among the committee members. That is Myung Tae-gyun's thought, and it has nothing to do with the actual nomination process."

Kim also told reporters before attending the trial that day, "I made significant efforts to help candidate Yoon Suk-yeol establish himself in the People Power Party," emphasizing the legitimacy of the nomination process by stating, "At the time, candidate Yoon had hastily joined the party and was running for president, so his contribution to the presidential election was the main issue."

Kim also mentioned meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon twice with Myung. She testified, "I asked Myung if he would help Mayor Oh to become Seoul Mayor again, and Myung offered to help Mayor Oh, so we met about twice together. There was an instance where Myung called me to attend a meeting with Mayor Oh."

Editorial Department