Kang Hye-kyung testifies on First Lady allegations; Myung denies claims

[Anchor]

Kang Hye-kyung, the accountant for former lawmaker Kim Yeong-seon, who raised suspicions about Kim Keon-hee's involvement in candidate nominations, appeared today (10.21) at the National Assembly's audit session.

During the audit session, some conversations between Kang and Myung Tae-kyun were disclosed.

Myung refuted Kang's statements as false.

Woo Jeong-hwa reports.

[Report]

Kang Hye-kyung attended the National Assembly and publicly mentioned the allegations of Kim Keon-hee's involvement in candidate nominations, also revealing recorded conversations she had with Myung Tae-kyun.

Myung Tae-kyun, who assisted former lawmaker Kim Yeong-seon's election, conducted 81 opinion polls for candidate Yoon Suk-yeol during the last presidential election.

[Jeon Hyun-heui/Member of the National Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee/Democratic Party: "Were all of these opinion polls conducted for candidate Yoon Suk-yeol?"]

[Kang Hye-kyung/Accountant for former lawmaker Kim Yeong-seon: "Yes, that's correct."]

She claims that in return, former lawmaker Kim received a nomination, and she believes that Kim Keon-hee was involved in this process.

[Kang Hye-kyung/Accountant for former lawmaker Kim Young-sun: "Kim Keon-hee was trying to give money, and (Myung Tae-kyun) said he would go get the money, but he didn't take it, and as a result, he received the nomination for Kim Yeong-seon."]

The Democratic Party designated Kang as a whistleblower and supported the allegations aimed at Kim.

[Seo Young-kyo/Member of the National Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee/Democratic Party: "If not the president, but the president's wife gets involved, it's interference in personnel matters. It's a complete abuse of power."]

The People Power Party raised doubts about the credibility of Kang's statements, claiming that most of them were stories heard from Myung Tae-kyun.

[Ju Jin-woo/Member of the National Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee/People Power Party: "You haven't directly heard the contents of the conversation between Kim Keon-hee and Myung Tae-kyun since the president's term just started, right?"]

[Kang Hye-kyung/Accountant for former lawmaker Kim Yeong-seon: "I heard it from others."]

Myung Tae-kyun denied having manipulated opinion polls for Yoon Suk-yeol and that former lawmaker Kim received a nomination in return.

[Myung Tae-kyun: "(If that were the case) would I be living like this now? You have to distinguish between public and private matters; it's nonsense to keep saying such things."]

Kang Hye-kyung stated in a separate press conference that more than 25 politicians from the ruling party are linked to Myung Tae-kyun regarding opinion polls and that she would submit the list to the National Assembly.

Kang is also set to appear as a witness at the National Assembly's House Steering Committee on the 1st of next month.

KBS News, Woo Jeong-hwa.