Kang Sunwoo and Kim Kyung Referred to Prosecution Under Arrest... Investigation Into "Split Donations" Continues

Kang Sunwoo, an independent lawmaker, and Kim Kyung, former Seoul city council member, who were arrested on charges of exchanging a political nomination donation worth 100 million won ahead of the 2022 local elections, have been handed over to the prosecution. The police plan to focus their investigative efforts on clarifying the remaining allegations against them, including so-called "split donations," in addition to the nomination donation.

On the morning of March 11, the Public Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred Kang Sunwoo and Kim Kyung to the prosecution under arrest on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. Additionally, Kang faces charges of accepting bribes in breach of duty, while Kim faces charges of giving bribes in breach of duty. These additional charges were applied eight days after their arrest.

Kang Sunwoo, an independent lawmaker, and Kim Kyung, a former Seoul city councilor, each appeared on the 3rd at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, for the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review). Kang is on the left, and Kim is on the right. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The two are accused of meeting at a hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul in January 2022, five months before the local elections, and exchanging 100 million won. It has been reported that bribery charges were not applied, as the act was deemed related to party affairs rather than official duties.

Nam, a former aide to Kang who was involved in the exchange of the nomination donation between the two, was also referred to the prosecution on the same day under the same charges as Kang: violation of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, as well as accepting bribes in breach of duty.

Previously, after arresting Kang and Kim, the police conducted one additional round of questioning for each. Kim was questioned at the Mapo Police Station detention center on March 5, and Kang was questioned on March 7. It is reported that no face-to-face questioning was conducted among Kang, Kim, and Nam.

Kim has generally admitted to the charges, including submitting a letter of voluntary surrender. However, Kang has denied the allegations, stating, "I did receive a shopping bag, but I did not know it contained money; once I realized it was money, I returned everything." In a personal statement before the arrest consent vote on February 24, Kang repeatedly denied the allegations, saying, "I returned a total of 322 million won over five occasions," and added, "100 million won does not hold any value worth risking my political career or life."

The police believe Kang used the 100 million won he received from Kim as a lump-sum nomination fee as a deposit for a lease. They view this amount as criminal proceeds and have applied for a preservation order before indictment.

Meanwhile, the police intend to continue investigating allegations that Kang received "split donations" from Kim. On March 9, Commissioner Park Jeongbo of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated at a press briefing, "We will continue necessary investigations even after the case is referred." The police are looking into allegations that ahead of the 2023 Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election, Kang received about 130 million won in donations from Kim under borrowed names.

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