Myung Tae-gyun’s KakaoTalk conversation before the presidential election was revealed
President’s Office: “We are referring to the first lady’s older brother, not Mr.”
The repercussions are growing as Myung Tae-gyun, a key figure in Mrs. Kim Kun-hee’s ‘suspicion of involvement in nominations’, disclosed KakaoTalk messages exchanged with Ms. Kim on the 15th. Mrs. Kim said to Mr. Myeong, “You don’t understand the situation when I am completely dependent on Mr. Myeong. “What do you know?” he sent. As speculation arose in the political world that the ‘brother’ mentioned by Mrs. Kim was President Yoon Seok-yeol, the President’s Office issued a press notice saying, “The older brother who appeared in Myung Tae-gyun’s KakaoTalk message is not the president, but Mrs. Kim’s biological brother, and the text message at the time was a private message before he became president. “It was just a conversation,” he said.
Mr. Myeong received a KakaoTalk screenshot sent by Mrs. Kim that day, containing messages such as “Please forgive my brother for talking immaturely,” “That’s just the way it is when you’re ignorant,” and “Anyway, I assure you that Mr. Myeong’s insight is the best.” posted on Facebook. These are responses to the text message Myeong sent saying, “You will get the correct answer when you meet Jun-seok tomorrow.”
It is presumed that the conversation between Mrs. Kim and Mr. Myeong took place around the time President Yoon joined the party. Mr. Myung claims that he played a role in President Yoon’s admission to the People Power Party on July 30, 2021. Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party was the representative of the People Power Party when President Yoon joined the party.
The President’s Office explained on this day, “The text message at the time was just a private conversation before joining the President.” Rep. Lee said, “I don’t know anyone else whom Mrs. Kim refers to as her brother. “We have never met or talked to each other,” he said.
Dong-Hoon Han, CEO of the People Power Party, said, “The people’s worry and anxiety are growing,” and “It is necessary to quickly implement the measures I have already mentioned. “That is the way to follow the will of the people,” he said. Representative Han has been demanding an apology from Ms. Kim, refraining from external activities, and clearing up Ms. Kim’s line.
Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “It is a problem even if it was a lie, and even if the explanation is true, it is also a problem that Ms. Kim’s own brother intervened.” He added, “Whoever the brother was in the conversation, it is clearly confirmed that there is a close relationship between Mr. Myeong and Ms. Kim.” “It has happened,” he pointed out.
Mrs. Kim said, “Oppa Ji knows something, it’s okay if you are ignorant” KakaoTalk message to Myeong before the presidential election
[명태균 파문]
Praise to Myeong for having “the most excellent insight”… Doubts about the relationship between Myung Tae-gyun and Yeon-Geum grow.
Regarding the claim of “calling every day for 6 months”… President’s Office calls it “absurd”
“I assure you that Teacher Myeong (Taekyun)’s insight is the most outstanding. “He is the only one who can solve it.”
A KakaoTalk conversation between First Lady Kim Kun-hee and Tae-gyun Myung, during what is believed to be the presidential election period, was made public on the 15th, saying, “I am completely dependent on Mr. Myung.” Previously, Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party said, “President Yoon Seok-yeol calls Mr. Myeong ‘Dr. Myeong’ and Mrs. Kim calls him ‘Teacher.’” This contains physical evidence showing that Mrs. Kim relied on Mr. Myeong by asking for advice. The repercussions are expected to grow further as Mr. Myung has been in contact with Ms. Kim during the 2022 by-election and the 22nd general election early this year, when suspicions arose that he had solicited the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun.
● Mrs. Kim “Completely relying on Teacher Myung”
In this KakaoTalk conversation, the exact date of which was not disclosed, Mr. Myeong sent at 11:22 p.m., “I will get an accurate answer when I meet Jun-seok tomorrow.” In response, Mrs. Kim sent eight messages for five minutes starting at 11:25 p.m., including “Thank you for your hard work,” “Please forgive my brother for talking immaturely,” “I’m embarrassed,” “That’s normal when I’m ignorant,” “I apologize,” and “What do you know?” sent in succession.
This conversation appears to be in the context of Mr. Myung playing a role in improving the relationship between President Yoon and Rep. Lee, who was the representative of the People Power Party during the presidential election. Before President Yoon decided to join the People Power Party in July 2021, there was distrust and hostility between President Yoon and Rep. Lee. Rep. Lee repeatedly pointed out that President Yoon’s “judgment is immature” and “he is trying to enter the river of impeachment again,” while pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) lawmakers within the party said, “Stop putting unnecessary pressure on him” and “Stop engaging in your own politics.” They protested and a war of nerves broke out.
This conflict was resolved with a chicken and beer meeting between President Yoon and Rep. Lee on July 25, 2021. Prior to this, Mr. Myung sent a text message to Rep. Lee on July 23, 2021, saying, “Representative, you can call President Yoon at 8 a.m. tomorrow. “I have hurt many people’s feelings, so apologize and if possible, ask what I can do to help you.” Afterwards, Mr. Myung attended the meeting between President Yoon and his wife and Rep. Lee at their home (Acrovista) in Seocho-dong, Seoul at the end of July 2021. President Yoon announced that he would join the People Power Party on July 30 of that year.
● Doubts are growing about the relationship between Myung and Yoon couple
With the disclosure of this KakaoTalk conversation, questions are growing about what kind of relationship and influence Mr. Myung had with President Yoon and his wife, based on Mrs. Kim’s attitude that she ‘completely relied’ on Mr. Myung. In an earlier interview with the Dong-A Ilbo, Mr. Myeong stated that he was in a position of giving advice to Mrs. Kim, saying, “(I told Mrs. Kim) not to tell me what to do, but to tell others to do it too.” “I always told three people to do it when I asked them to do it.” emphasized. Mr. Myeong has claimed that “(during the presidential election), I exchanged messages with the President, telegraphed him, and spoke on the phone (with the first lady) frequently.” On the 14th, he also said, “President Yoon and First Lady Kim received calls on speaker phone every morning during the presidential election period.”
Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-seon revealed to this newspaper that he introduced Mr. Myeong to President Yoon and his wife in early June 2021 as a messenger with lawmaker Lee. Former lawmaker Kim is an alumnus of President Yoon’s Seoul National University Law School and the same descendant of the Kim family as Mrs. Kim. Mr. Myeong told Dong-A Ilbo, “(The President) sent someone to visit me. So I went to meet him.”
Mr. Myeong attended the presidential inauguration ceremony held in May 2022, and in September of the same year, Mrs. Kim wrote a jirashi (private information magazine) to Mr. Myeong saying, “There are rumors that the reason you were not going to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral was because of Myeong Tae-gyun’s advice.” was also shared on Telegram. In February of this year, Mr. Myeong asked Mrs. Kim to nominate former lawmaker Kim for Gimhae-gap, Gyeongsangnam-do, saying, “During the last presidential election, I helped the president by breaking my body.” Ms. Kim said, “Single numbers are good for me too,” and “The basic strategy is to win the primary.” “It has to be this way,” he said.
Mr. Myeong released the transcript of the conversation that day and claimed, “Kim Jae-won, the Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, threatened me over the phone that he would send me to jail and told me to reveal all the information about President Yoon and Mrs. Kim, so Kim Jae-won, you take care of everything.” Supreme Commissioner Kim responded by saying, “We will never back down from Mr. Myeong and will respond thoroughly to ensure that he receives the punishment he deserves.”
The President’s Office refuted this day, saying, “It is an absurd claim that the President and his wife spoke on speaker phone every day for six months.”
Reporter Kim Jun-il [email protected]
Reporter Shin Na-ri [email protected]
Reporter Lee Ji-woon [email protected]
Reporter Jo Kwon-hyung [email protected]