Forfeiture of 100 million won also requested

'Money in nomination process harms voters'

Lawmaker Kang Sun-woo (left) and former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyung. [Yonhap]
Lawmaker Kang Sun-woo (left) and former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyung. [Yonhap]

Prosecutors have sought a four-year prison sentence for independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, who is on trial on charges of receiving 100 million won ($73,900) in exchange for a party nomination for a city council seat. They also asked the court to order the forfeiture of 100 million won.

At the closing arguments hearing Wednesday before Seoul Central District Court Judge Lee Chun-geun, prosecutors made the sentencing requests in the political funds law violation case. They also sought two years in prison for former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyung, who is charged with handing Kang the 100 million won, and one year for a former aide to Kang identified only by his surname Nam, who allegedly arranged the meeting between the two.

"This case involved treating the recommendation of a public office candidate as the subject of a large monetary transaction, undermining public trust," prosecutors said. "Party nominations are a critical process for selecting candidates, and when money enters that process, fairness is compromised and the harm falls on voters."

Prosecutors also criticized Kang's conduct during the investigation, saying he had claimed to have been pressured and was shifting all responsibility onto former aide Nam and former councilman Kim. "Strict accountability commensurate with that conduct is necessary," they said.

Kang and Kim are accused of meeting at a hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ahead of the 2022 local elections in January of that year and exchanging 100 million won for a party nomination. Both were indicted in custody in March.

At the time, Kang was a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim was nominated as the sole Democratic Party candidate for a Seoul city council seat in Kang's constituency of Gangseo-gu, going on to win the seat.

Kim and Nam admitted in court to charges related to the transfer of funds, while Kang has denied all charges.

Separately from this case, Kang and Kim were additionally indicted Monday on charges of splitting donations totaling more than 130 million won across dozens of names.


kyoung@heraldcorp.com