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| ▲ A former member of Seoul's Dongjak Ward Council (R) appears at an office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police in the capital on Jan. 8, 2026, to undergo questioning about his alleged delivery of cash to Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byung-kee. (Yonhap) |
police-lawmaker scandal
Police question ex-council member over alleged cash delivery to ruling party lawmaker
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Police on Thursday questioned a former local council member over his claim that he delivered 10 million won (US$6,900) in cash to ruling party lawmaker Kim Byung-kee in the hopes of a nomination for the 2020 parliamentary elections.
The former member of Seoul's Dongjak Ward Council was questioned as a suspect at an office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police after disclosing the apparent bribe in a petition submitted to former Rep. Lee Su-jin of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) in late 2023.
Lee recently mentioned the petition to the press amid a snowballing corruption scandal involving Kim and his family. Kim stepped down as DP floor leader last week to take responsibility for the various allegations of misconduct.
In the petition, the former council member reportedly claimed that his wife offered a Lunar New Year's gift and 5 million won in cash to Kim's wife ahead of the 2020 parliamentary election but that they were rejected for being "too much for a gift and too little" for a nomination.
At the time, Kim was head of the DP's preliminary candidate vetting committee.
The petition went on to claim that shortly after the exchange, in March 2020, the former council member delivered 10 million won to Kim through one of his confidants but that he received it back in June the same year.
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