“The decision makers for nominations are Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Sang-hyun.”
Allegations of involvement in nominations for the 2022 June 1 by-election are completely denied.
President Yoon Seok-yeol and Myung Tae-gyun phone call… “Please do something about Kim Young-sun” #Yoon Seok-yeol #Myung Tae-gyun #Suspicion of interference in nominations
On the 31st, when President Yoon Seok-yeol’s alleged involvement in the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-seon was revealed, the President’s Office completely denied the allegations, saying, “I was just saying something nice.” The President’s Office said, “President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol (at the time) never received a report on nomination from the Nomination Management Committee and never ordered nomination.”
The President’s Office issued a statement on this day and said, “At the time (of the 2022 June 1 by-election), the decision-makers on nominations were party leader Lee Jun-seok and President of the Presidential Office Committee Yoon Sang-hyun.”
The President’s Office said, “The content of the phone call between President-elect Yoon and Myung Tae-gyun was not particularly memorable, and since Mr. Myeong kept talking about the nomination of candidate Kim Young-sun, he was just speaking kindly.”
The President’s Office said, “At that time, the party decided to strategically nominate all regions except Jeju Island,” and added, “In the case of Changwon and Uichang constituencies in Gyeongsangnam-do, candidate Kim Young-sun was the most competitive candidate. As a result, candidate Kim was elected with an overwhelming margin of votes.”
The President’s Office also said, “Party leader Lee Jun-seok recently explained in detail on Facebook that there was no problem with the strategic nomination decision at the highest level,” and attached a social networking service (SNS) post by Lee Joon-seok, a member of the New Reform Party. In an article written on the 20th of last month, Rep. Lee said, “Nomination for by-elections is entirely the work of the diplomatic committee,” and “(Candidate Kim Young-sun) was judged to be a strong candidate who would appeal to local residents.” On the 22nd, Rep. Lee wrote, “Strategic nomination areas are originally decided by the diplomatic committee or the highest level,” and “Hyun Rep. Kim Jong-yang, who competed with candidate Kim Young-seon at the time, is testifying that there were no problems in the nomination process.”
On this day, Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held an emergency press conference and released the audio of a phone call he had with Myung on May 9, 2022, when President Yoon was president-elect. In the recording, President Yoon said, “The Nomination Management Committee brought this to me and said, ‘I ran hard during the primary, so Kim Young-sun should do something about it.’ But there is a lot of talk in the party.” Mr. Myeong responded, “I will never forget your grace for the rest of my life.” Former lawmaker Kim received confirmation of nomination for the Uichang district in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do on May 10, the day after the phone call.