Kim Min-seok Claims Political Targeting in Past Corruption Case
On June 16, Kim Min-seok, the nominee for Prime Minister of South Korea, took to Facebook early in the morning to assert that the essence of his past conviction for receiving illegal political funds from SK Group was a politically motivated investigation by the prosecution.
Kim, who ran as the candidate for the Millennium Democratic Party in the 2002 Seoul mayoral election, was found guilty of accepting 200 million won in political donations through methods not sanctioned by law. This led to a sentence of eight months in prison, suspended for two years, along with a fine of 200 million won, confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2005.
However, Kim contended that the case was unusual because it held him accountable for the lack of receipts for corporate donations requested by the central party of the Democratic Party, which he claimed he was unaware of. He described the situation as one where representatives from SK expressed regret to him, despite him never having requested support from the company.
He explained that during that time, the fundraising limit for congressional support committees was 200 million won, while the official campaign cost limit for the Seoul mayoral election exceeded 3 billion won. He noted that for incumbent lawmakers running for office, raising tens of billions of won in campaign funds was only feasible through means other than wealthy donors, with central party support being a primary route.
Kim recounted an incident just days before the official campaign began when a staff member from his campaign informed him that a guest from SK was coming. Upon meeting this individual, who he had never seen before, Kim was handed a shopping bag containing cash, which he accepted with gratitude, believing it was intended for campaign use. He later learned that the central party had requested this financial support from SK, which had agreed after its own review.
He stated that the campaign staff, eager for funds, used the money joyfully and reported all income and expenditures to the election commission. The prosecution's legal issue stemmed from the failure to issue a receipt for the donation, which the staff assumed the central party would handle, a mistake they later recognized.
During a 2004 investigation, Kim claimed that a prosecutor told him that after concluding the investigation into President Roh Moo-hyun's campaign funds, they pressured SK's chairman, Chey Tae-won, to provide testimony against him. This, he argued, illustrated the targeted nature of the prosecution's investigation.
Kim expressed his intention to reveal everything during the upcoming confirmation hearing, stating that the methods of political prosecution, including targeted investigations, witness intimidation, and defamation, would be fully exposed. He also mentioned that he would welcome any witnesses, including the prosecutor who handled his case, to testify during the hearing.
