Overview
- Police allege former councilor Kim Kyung delivered 100 million won in cash to Kang in a shopping bag at a Seoul hotel in January 2022 in exchange for a Democratic Party nomination.
- Officers sought detention on charges of breach-of-trust bribery, plus violations of the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, while reviewing whether tougher bribery statutes could still apply.
- Kang acknowledges receiving a bag from Kim but says she did not know it contained cash and later returned the money, a claim investigators say conflicts with other witness accounts.
- The inquiry gained momentum after an audio recording surfaced late last year referencing the payment, and investigators say Kim’s U.S. trip and deleted messaging records complicated evidence gathering.
- Any arrest of Kang requires National Assembly consent during the current session, and critics have faulted police for seeking warrants 38 days after launching the probe.