Myung Tae-kyun's messages suggest president's involvement in nomination process

[Anchor]

You have seen the contents of the prosecution's arrest warrant, but it is still uncertain whether Myung Tae-kyun actually intervened in the nomination process.

However, it has been confirmed that Myung sent a message to then-Leader Lee Jun-seok of the People Power Party, saying that President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol promised a nomination.

Our reporting team has obtained this information.

Reporter Lee Hyung-kwan reports.

[Report]

The conversation between President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol and Myung Tae-kyun was disclosed by the Democratic Party.

It was the day before the presidential inauguration ceremony.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/President-elect/May 9, 2022: "I told them to take care of Kim Young-sun, but there are a lot of talks about it in the party...."]

[Myung Tae-kyun/May 9, 2022: "I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life, thank you."]

The next day, the nomination of former lawmaker Kim was confirmed.

Regarding this, President Yoon stated that he never intervened in the nomination.

[National Address/Nov. 7: "I only talked about principles and rules; I have never said to give a nomination to anyone."]

The prosecution recently secured several KakaoTalk messages through a forensic examination of the computer used by Myung.

On the day before the inauguration ceremony, Myung sent messages to President Yoon, who was in the status of president-elect, saying, "Please take good care of Congressman Kim Young-sun" two to three times.

Afterward, Myung also sent a message to then-Leader Lee Jun-seok of the People Power Party.

He mentioned that "President Yoon called" and that it was about "he would call Representative Yoon Sang-hyun, who was the head of the nomination management committee, to say to give a strategic nomination to Kim Young-sun."

This is interpreted as having received a promise for the nomination of former lawmaker Kim through the previously disclosed call between Myung and President Yoon.

This connects with Myung's claim that he also spoke with First Lady Kim Keon-hee on the same day.

[Myung Tae-kyun · Conversation with an acquaintance/June 15, 2022: "Right after I hung up, the wife called me. 'Sir, we called Yoon Sang-hyun. Please keep it confidential and make sure to attend the inauguration ceremony tomorrow (May 10).' That's why I hung up."]

However, Myung stated during the prosecution investigation that he "exaggerated" the message sent to then-Leader Lee Jun-seok.

Representative Yoon Sang-hyun told reporters that he "has never received a call from the president," and former Leader Lee Jun-seok could not be reached for comment.

This is KBS News, Lee Hyung-kwan.