Kim Eui-gyeom and Choi Kang-wook "If it's my card, Yoon will die"... Mentioning the 'Kim Man-bae recording'

A post by Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Photo by Kim Eui-gyeom, Democratic Party of Korea Facebook capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, saying he is "in Kim Man-bae's grasp."

On the 30th, Kim posted on his Facebook under the title "Yoon Seok-yeol in Kim Man-bae's grip," revealing this view. Quoting a statement from a recorded conversation saying, "Yoon will die if it's a card his brother holds," Kim said, "This is from the recording of Kim Man-bae reported by 'Open Sympathy TV.' Two thoughts came to mind," he began.

This post is interpreted as a response to part of Kim's recorded conversation released by the independent media 'Open Sympathy TV' after YTN had announced it would disclose it but delayed the report. The relevant passage is presumed to have come up during a phone call between Kim and Jung Young-hak, where Jung expressed anxiety about the business, and Kim tried to reassure him.

Kim said that the conversation reminded him of Yoon's evasive attitude, adding, "I have previously written that Yoon and Kim have a brotherly relationship, and that Kim once recommended Yoon to Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo as the head of the investigation team." He also said, "I was later sued by Yoon's side," and added, "There is a journalist who tipped me off about the relationship between Yoon and Kim," and "I should encourage him to write an article based on what he witnessed at the time."

A post by Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Photo by Choi Kang-wook]

Furthermore, Kim claimed, "In the Daejang-dong investigation, the prosecution has only focused on Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, for the past few months," and "They deliberately turned a blind eye to any connection with Yoon." He continued, "At most, they reluctantly summoned Kim's sister as a witness for questioning," and criticized, "There has been no word on the investigation results or plans for follow-up investigations."

Kim emphasized, "What is more serious is that the prosecution tried to conceal Kim's recorded statements." He explained, "Recently, in the Daejang-dong case trial, defendants including Woo Dong-gyu requested permission to copy the 'Jung Young-hak recording,' but the prosecution opposed it, arguing that the recordings had been leaked in full and reported daily, so copying should not be allowed." He added, "Kim's statements seem to come from the newly authorized copy of the recording by the court," and questioned, "Then why did the police resist copying the recordings, violating the basic spirit of the Criminal Procedure Act?"

Kim asked rhetorically, "Is it because the prosecution, having only targeted Lee's side so far, feared being stopped?" and "Are they worried that the investigation might spread to Yoon's side?" He also urged, "The prosecution must immediately start an investigation into Kim's statements," and "They must disclose how far up the prosecution the reports have gone," and "The Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department must thoroughly investigate the truth and inform the public."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Choi Kang-wook, also a member of the Democratic Party, posted a message seemingly aware of the recording. Quoting Kim's statements from the recording, Choi added, "Is Kim Man-bae the only person holding the cards?" This is interpreted as a question suggesting that there may be several people, not just Kim, who have means to pressure Yoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.