Park Hyung-jun, the mayor of Busan from the People Power Party, is accused by Kang Hye-kyung of seeking help from political broker Myung Tae-kyun during the April 7, 2021, Busan mayoral by-election, but Myung has denied the claims.
On the 12th, Myung stated on his Facebook, "Kang Hye-kyung, 'Did Park Hyung-jun visit Myung Tae-kyun to ask for help???' I have neither met nor seen Mayor Park Hyung-jun."
He continued, "I have no recorded currency calls, texts, or KakaoTalk messages with Mayor Park Hyung-jun, nor do I have any phone numbers saved. How could this happen? How many times has this been? I have said several times to the prosecution that I do not know Mayor Park."
Kang Hye-kyung, who worked at the public opinion polling company run by Myung, claimed in a pre-recorded radio interview the day before that, "As I recall, it was around late November or early December 2020 when Mayor Park came to see Myung Tae-kyun and asked for help, which led to the commencement of the polling for Park Hyung-jun."
Mayor Park's side issued a statement on the 11th, saying, "Everything mentioned by Kang Hye-kyung in the radio interview is not true," and added, "Not only do I have no acquaintance with Myung, but I have never had a single currency call with him." They also stated that they first learned about Myung's existence through media reports after the 'Myung Tae-kyun incident.'
Adding that, "It is a 100% fabricated lie and a political conspiracy to tarnish Mayor Park's reputation," the team noted they plan to respond legally through civil and criminal measures regarding Kang's interview next week.
Meanwhile, Myung, who was detained for five months, was released on bail by the court on the 9th and is actively expressing his position regarding the prosecution's investigation and the allegations against him.